The Chicago Cubs have invested plenty of money into its offense, but it hasn't produced this season.
Chicago entered Sunday ranked No. 22 in Major League Baseball in RBIs, No. 26 in hits, No. 24 in doubles, No. 23 in home runs, No. 26 in slugging percentage, and No. 23 in OPS.
On the whole, the Cubs aren't slugging this year, especially with runners in scoring position.
Chicago's woes at the plate are as head-scratching for manager Craig Counsell and president Jed Hoyer as they are for Cubs fans. On paper, Chicago's lineup looks like a powerful beast to be feared.
The reality of Cubs hitting has been far weaker, and it's difficult to know where to point the finger.
Michael Busch avoids any blame, as he's been slashing above his career standard. Ian Happ's been on fire lately and has returned to the mean of his career batting average and slugging percentage. Seiya Suzuki has also performed as expected at the plate this season.
Christopher Morel's nefarious .198 batting average jumps off the page, but Morel's somewhat made up for it with a team-high 15 home runs; and while Nico Hoerner and Cody Bellinger (lack of slug) have underperformed, no one has looked more uncomfortable in the batter's box this season than Dansby Swanson.
Swanson, a career .249/ .319/ .411 hitter, is suffering through an 0-for-24 slump right now that has him treading dangerously close to the Mendoza Line at .203/ .278/ .341. Additionally, his 77 wRC+ is the seventh worst in MLB.
The Athletic's Sahadev Sharma reported on Swanson's struggles on Saturday, citing comments made by Counsell on the topic.
"Well, I think he’s struggling," Counsell said, per Sharma. "There’s no question about it. ... He’s struggling getting into good counts. He’s struggling getting good swings off, for sure. I thought he played well defensively again. We just got to get him back going well."
Sharma acknowledged that while Swanson's Gold Glove fielding has undoubtedly benefited the Cubs this year, his huge drop in plate production is more relevant.
"Swanson’s defense has been elite, especially lately, and he’s saved the team runs with his glove," Sharma said. "But his offensive collapse has stood out on a team that’s been truly disappointing this season at the plate and has too many spots in the lineup where it’s not getting a competitive enough at-bat. ... This type of offensive drop-off is hard to overcome, especially with the Cubs’ offensive struggles in other areas, including catcher."
Swanson, an All-Star in each of the last two seasons, won a World Series with the Atlanta Braves in 2021. In December 2022, he signed a seven-year/$177M contract with the Cubs.
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