Dansby Swanson's recent success delays a bad conversation for the Chicago Cubs

One of the main reasons why the Chicago Cubs season went off the rails after the month of April was due to shortstop Dansby Swanson experiencing offensive struggles that were a reminder of the early days of his Major League career.

During the month of May, Swanson slashed .155/.234/.241 through 64 plate appearances. While a knee injury limited Swanson in May, the 38 wRC+ he had that month ignited conversations that the Cubs may have another Jason Heyward situation on their hand.

That would have been disastrous.

For all the praise that Heyward deserves for the person he was during his tenure with the Cubs, the fact remains his eight-year contract is a large part of the reason why Jed Hoyer is afraid of those long-term commitments to top free-agent players.

In fact, Heyward's contract is the primary reason why Swanson was the shortstop the Cubs chose during the free-agent class two years ago, which included Swanson, Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts, and Carlos Correa. Swanson's seven-year deal, worth $177MM, was more aligned with Hoyer's interest than the mega-deals that the other three shortstops had.

But, given that Swanson is only in year two of that seven-year deal, that is why many Cubs fans were afraid of what they were seeing during the month of May. While Swanson was not signed to be the anchor of the Cubs' offense, he was signed to, at the very least, be the offensive player that he was with the Braves.

The Cubs need Dansby Swanson's offensive success to stay.

Fortunately, for the Cubs, Swanson appears to have turned the corner from his struggles at the start of the season. Since July 10, Swanson is slashing .308/.357/.404 with a 113 wRC+.

At the very least, Swanson's success over the past month may lend credence to the idea that the knee injury the shortstop suffered in April may have lingered for most of the first half. We may never know the truth regarding the extent of Swanson's knee injury, but at the very least, the Cubs can shelve a dreaded conversation—what were they going to do if Swanson never showed offensive life this season?

If the Cubs' contention window is going to succeed, or, at the very least, save Jed Hoyer's job, Swanson needs to be in the middle of that success. Otherwise, Swanson's deal will prove to be the final nail in the coffin that would be Hoyer's failure as the Cubs president of baseball operations.