Is Dansby Swanson’s offseason work already paying off?

MESA, Ariz. — There’s not much of a debate that spring training results don’t mean too much. Dansby Swanson has experienced this firsthand. In his first spring with the Chicago Cubs, he struggled mightily, looking lost at the plate. He then started the regular season with 10 hits in his first 18 plate appearances.

But sometimes, it can help a player trust that the adjustments he made in the offseason were worth it.

“The hard part about change is sticking with them,” manager Craig Counsell said. “It gives you some validation to stick with them. That’s where it is relevant during the season. Because those things that you did during the offseason, if you were successful in the spring, you are going to stick with them for a longer time during the season. If you had just a ho-hum spring (after) making changes, that’s where it probably matters.”

Swanson, a 10-year veteran, made changes to his workout habits in the winter with the hope he’d be more athletic in the box. In eight spring games, he has a 1.297 OPS with two home runs, a triple and a double.

“It’s always good getting results,” Swanson said. “At the end of the day, this is a results-based game. It just is. But at the same time, I think the difference for me has just been really believing in something I’m doing. Believing in a process and actually having a process.”

Swanson said what’s helping him is leaning into something that’s not results-based or mechanics-based. There have been mechanical tweaks, but Swanson isn’t thinking about them. He’s doing work in the cages and in BP he believes have led to the good results.

In the past, Swanson hasn’t even felt that comfortable with his work. But that’s different this spring.

“In years past, I felt like I’ve had to even tinker my work to feel good,” Swanson said. “Tinker this drill or try this feel. This has just been pretty consistent and simple. Similar to my defensive work that I do. I can believe in that, I can trust in that, it’s the same every day. Basically taking that same kind of approach into the cage and batter’s box in a way has its own effect. And that’s what’s been the best thing for me.”

Swanson’s 2025 wasn’t disastrous. He hit 24 home runs and had a 99 wRC+, just a tick below league average. But there were extended bad stretches, so much so that Counsell had Swanson batting eighth for chunks of the year.

One could argue Swanson wasn’t getting much luck at the plate. According to Statcast, Swanson had a hard-hit rate of 47.8% and a barrel rate of 11.7%. Both were the best of his career and far and away the best of his time with the Cubs. His expected stats suggested a much better season could have been had.

Still, Swanson wasn’t pleased with how the season went.

“To some degree, yes, the expected stats, you can gain some confidence from them,” Swanson said. “But at the same time, it’s like, there’s got to be a reason why. It’s not just bad luck, right? There’s got to be a little bit of another reason as to why. And having addressed some of those things, I’m hoping that we can have a nice little marriage of the two.”

Swanson pointed to his swing-and-miss rate, which was at 14.3%, the highest of his career. He felt as if he was fouling off pitches that should have ended the at-bat. He was putting himself in bad counts, and that was leading to poor results.

Already this spring, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan pointed out in a recent column, Swanson has had two batted balls at above 110 mph. He’d come close to that before, as his previous career high was 109.8, but it’s clear the changes aren’t taking away from his ability to strike the ball with authority.

“It’s easy to say be more athletic in the box,” Swanson said. “OK, well, what does that mean? Having that broken down to me and for me to understand myself a little bit better and how I move a little bit better has allowed for me to create this new way of looking at the batter’s box.”

Swanson is 32, so suddenly finding a new level offensively would be a surprise. But avoiding the deep lulls and making a little more contact are certainly attainable goals. It may have taken a while for Swanson to get here, but he finally feels he’s where he’s supposed to be when he steps into the batter’s box.

“I feel like I’ve gotten to a point of moving how I’m supposed to move and trusting in my athletic ability,” Swanson said. “Just patterning the same good things over and over again. Like, ‘Oh, I didn’t hit this one perfectly, but like I’m in a good spot.'”

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