Cubs dealt a potential haymaker with scary-looking Dansby Swanson injury

Sunday's rubber match against the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field got off to an inauspicious start after Edward Cabrera allowed a two-run shot in the first - and that was a sign of things to come, with the biggest blow not coming on the scoreboard, but via injury.

Leading off the bottom of the third, Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson swung and miss at a first pitch fastball and immediately took off his helmet and threw it, in obvious discomfort. The team is initally calling it left side discomfort, which could suggest an oblique strain for the two-time Gold Glover.

It's been an up-and-down 2026 season for Swanson, who flipped the script on a career-worst stretch at the plate with a week-long heater earlier this summer. He entered Sunday at a 95 OPS+ but, thanks to his typically stellar defense at shortstop, was still at 3.3 bWAR. A prolonged loss of Swanson would be brutal for the Cubs - but they do have legitimate backup options on the roster.

Cubs' infield depth could help them weather a Dansby Swanson injury

James Triantos entered for Swanson, finishing the at-bat and drawing a walk (then coming around on Pete Crow-Armstrong's two-run homer), then switched positions with Nico Hoerner to begin the fourth.

Hoerner will be the everyday shortstop while Swanson is out, but there are options behind him on the depth chart, too. Pedro Ramirez, Triantos and Matt Shaw, who is expected to begin a rehab start this week, will all factor into the middle infield plans - which should prevent Craig Counsell from being forced into any sort of square peg, round hole scenario.

But with the postseason just six weeks away, everyone will be anxiously awaiting an update on Swanson to get an idea of just how severe this injury is and what its long-term impact on the team will be as it gears up for a second straight postseason appearance.

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