Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson is making $177 million with the Cubs. With that comes a little bit of sway, one might say.
Swanson spoke at the Cubs Convention on Saturday and he admitted to Cubs fans and the media that he’s been a pain in the team’s butt lately.
He doesn’t want more money. He wants Cody Bellinger back.
“They probably get sick of me calling,” Swanson said in a comment conveyed by The Athletic.
Bellinger is still a free agent and he hasn’t found the contract he’s looking for yet. The Cubs have made one big move so far this offseason, which is their recent signing of pitcher Shota Imanaga.
During a panel with Cubs fans on Saturday, Bellinger made a direct appeal to Cubs brass to the delight of Cubs fans in attendance.
“Before we get to next year we gotta re-sign Belli,” Swanson said, which prompted a roar from Cubs fans as he handed the microphone back to the panel’s moderator.
Behind the scenes, it appears Swanson has been one of Bellinger’s biggest advocates. He said that he and Bellinger text “here and there” but didn’t have an update on what Bellinger’s status is as of this weekend.
Swanson wants the NL Comeback Player of the Year back in Wrigley Field in 2024. But, Swanson also understands why the process is taking its time. He went through this last offseason as he left the Atlanta Braves to sign with the Cubs for seven years.
“I’ve been through it,” Swanson said in the article. “We have a good friendship and a relationship. A lot of it is just checking in and seeing how he’s doing, how the offseason is going, offering any advice and things of that nature for free agency just because I have been through it so recently.”
He might have an ally in Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, who has absorbed plenty of criticism this offseason for his approach to free agency. The signing of Imanaga has softened some of it. And when Hoyer talked to the media, he made it sound like the Cubs were not done yet.
“We’re in the fourth or fifth inning of our offseason,” Hoyer said.
There are encouraging signs when it comes to re-signing Bellinger. But it doesn’t look like its close to the finish line.
“He’s obviously an awesome player and we’d love to have him back,” Swanson said. “I think that’s about as clear as day. So hopefully, we can make that happen.”
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