Cubs Rumors: Red Sox showing serious interest in Dansby Swanson

Chicago Cubs free-agent shortstop target Dansby Swanson is currently enjoying his honeymoon with his now wife, Mallory Pugh of the Chicago Red Stars but there are a plethora of teams that are waiting for Swanson's next long-term commitment--What team will he play for in 2023 and beyond?

With the Cubs' efforts or lack thereof, in pursuing the other free-agent shortstops that were available this offseason--Carlos Correa, Trea Turner, and Xander Bogaerts--it is becoming more and more apparent that Swanson may have been the free-agent shortstop that they have had circled all along. The issue for the Cubs is Swanson is now the last of the premium free-agent shortstops available this offseason and the team may have pinned themselves in a corner in terms of being forced to overpay Swanson to prevent him from signing with another team such as the Boston Red Sox.

"Dansby Swanson married Chicago Red Stars star Mallory Pugh on Saturday, adding to Cubs speculation. Other outside possibilities include the Dodgers and Red Sox, who are seriously considering Swanson now and likely prefer to keep Trevor Story at 2B. The Dodgers are said to be on the periphery and would need a price drop. The incumbent Braves are cautious payers but can’t be ruled out."

Jon Heyman, New York Post

To further identify the Red Sox efforts to sign Swanson, it appears that Red Sox manager Alex Cora recently followed both Swanson and Pugh on Instagram.

Sure, following a player on Instagram does not immediately translate to the team signing said player but does speak to the overall interest that may be there.

Initially, the rumored interest from the Red Sox had the feel of an agent creating last-minute leverage before a deal is finalized with another team. For example, that is exactly what Scott Boras was able to do in leveraging more money from the San Francisco Giants for Correa when the false idea of the New York Mets being involved was leaked.

Regardless, the expectation around the industry is for Swanson to land a deal that is similar to the deal that Javier Baez signed with the Detroit Tigers last offseason. Baez landed a 6-year deal with the Tigers worth $140MM. Given how the market has developed this offseason, Baez's deal for Swanson may be the starting point for a deal that likely may be near $200MM.