Dansby Swanson's Wild Card heroics will be remembered by Cubs fans forever

The Chicago Cubs are headed to the NLDS to play the Milwaukee Brewers, and it may be due to the defensive efforts of Dansby Swanson. "I don't think they give an MVP for defense this round, but I'd give it to [Dansby] Swanson," said Padres manager Mike Schildt to the media after game three of the Wild Card series. "Dansby Swanson absolutely beat us with his glove this series."

The Cubs' series win over the Padres was highlighted by several highlight reel plays by the two-time Gold Glove winner, who is in year three of a seven-year, $177 million deal. Swanson showed the Cubs faithful why they paid him the big bucks. If it were not for those plays, the Cubs would be cleaning out their lockers before this weekend.

Dansby Swanson's Wild Card defense left Cubs fans in total awe

He saved two huge runs in Game 1 and kept the Padres from rallying in the clinching game. Swanson this year sported a 2 OAA (Outs Above Average), 3 FRV (Fielding Run Value), and 7 DRS (Defensive Runs Saved) at short in 2025. While good, it was nowhere near where he had been the previous two years, when he boasted a 20 OAA in 2023 and 17 OAA in 2024, along with a whopping 18 DRS in 2023 when he won the Gold Glove. It's well known what he is capable of at shortstop, and he looked like his prime Gold Glove self in this past series.

So much of postseason baseball is about run prevention. A philosophy that Cubs President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer built much of his team upon. The margin of error is so small, and making the big plays can be the difference between glory and coming up short. A grueling 162-game journey to the postseason can end very quickly if a team either fails to make the big plays in the field or the opposition takes advantage of opportunities. That's what Swanson and the Cubs defense did to the Padres: they took it away from them with their gloves. The old "Defense wins championships" cliché got a lot of validation this series.

Defense is going to be huge for both the Cubs and the Brewers in this next series. Both teams are great with the gloves, and a few plays could be the difference between a trip to the NLCS or the end of the road.

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