CHICAGO (AP) — Two-time Gold Glove shortstop Dansby Swanson was held out of the Chicago Cubs’ starting lineup against the San Francisco Giants on Saturday because of his ongoing struggles at the plate.
The 32-year-old Swanson entered batting .180, third-worst among regular players in the majors. Over his last 14 games, the two-time All-Star has only six hits in 46 at-bats for a .130 average.
Manager Craig Counsell said it was time for Swanson to re-set.
“Just at this point, just give him a couple of days away from the game,” Counsell said. “Obviously he’s healthy and could be in there, but you know, just try to give him a different look and just a little break mentally.”
Swanson has been as smooth as ever — often sensational — in the field and has made only four errors in 60 games this season for a .983 fielding percentage.
Nico Hoerner, also a two-time Gold Glove winner, moved from second base to shortstop in the Cubs lineup on Saturday. Pedro Ramirez was at second for slumping Chicago, which entered having lost 19 of its last 25.
Counsell said Swanson was working to get out of the hitting funk.
“We haven’t seen many signs of positive results from it, but let’s try to commit to a couple more days of good work,” Counsell said. “And maybe cement some of those thoughts and habits and then take it into a game.”
In 2025, Swanson started in all but three of the Cubs’ regular-season games, batting .244 with 24 homers, 77 RBIs and .717 OPS. In his 11th season, the shortstop has a career .248 average with 171 home runs and 661 RBIs in 1,343 games.
The Cubs recalled right-hander Javier Assad from Triple-A Iowa on Saturday and optioned righty Ethan Roberts.
Assad is 3-1 with a 5.88 ERA in eight appearances, including three starts, with the Cubs this season. The 28-year-old was recalled from Iowa on April 6 then optioned back on May 16.
Last season, Assad was 4-1 with a 3.65 ERA in eight games with the Cubs, starting seven. He made 29 starts with Chicago in 2024, going 7-6 with 3.73 ERA.
Counsell said he expected to use Assad from the bullpen in his latest call-up.
Roberts is 0-1 with a 1.96 ERA in 14 relief appearances with the Cubs this season.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Matt Carlson, The Associated Press
