Dansby Swanson Contract: Chicago Cubs found right price

Intelligent spending was the buzzphrase that the Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer used at the beginning of the offseason to forecast the team's offseason and that is the best way to describe the deal that he finalized with free-agent shortstop Dansby Swanson.

Swanson's contract with the Cubs now becomes the second-largest in franchise history behind the 8-year, $184 million contract that Jason Heyward signed with the team prior to the 2016 season. At $25.28MM per season, Swanson's AAV is also the second-largest in franchise history behind Jon Lester.

Swanson's deal also includes a full no-trade clause which indicates the firm belief that the Cubs have in the shortstop being an important piece to their next contending core.

Reading the context clues that have originated from the Cubs' front office this offseason, it should be no surprise that Swanson was the shortstop they ended up signing. While the argument should still be made that the Cubs should have made more of an effort in their pursuit of fellow free-agent shortstops Carlos Correa, Trea Turner, and Xander Bogaerts, Swanson's contract falls more in line with the overall philosophy of Hoyer.

Swanson's contract shouldn't act as a roadblock to the Cubs' spending more in future off-seasons either. Michael Cerami of Bleacher Nation did the math of the contracts that the Cubs have coming off the books next winter and the team could be approaching nearly $100MM in freed-up payroll.

Moving forward after the Swanson deal, the Cubs still have plenty of room available not only this offseason but in future seasons. Swanson's contract is an important first step this offseason that the Cubs had to make in order to truly show they are intent on returning to contention.