Chicago Cubs give more encouraging news on Dansby Swanson

Cubs manager Craig Counsell spoke to the media before Tuesday night’s game in Milwaukee, including giving another update on shortstop Dansby Swanson. Per The Sun-Times’ Jeff Agrest, Counsell said they aim to have Swanson back for the Braves series next week at Wrigley Field.

#Cubs targeting for DANSBY SWANSON to return during the Braves series next week at Wrigley, Craig Counsell said.

— Jeff Agrest # (@JeffAgrest) September 8, 2026

Swanson has been dealing with a left oblique injury that he suffered back on August 16th against the Cardinals. The Cubs enter Tuesday 9-11 without their Gold Glove shortstop, mostly parking Nico Hoerner in his place. He is set up to start rehabbing soon if all goes well.

The Cubs could use Swanson

Dansby Swanson, Chicago Cubs — Aug 1, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson (7) throws the ball during the fourth inning against the New York Yankees at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images

While the disastrous bullpen isn’t necessarily a direct result of Swanson’s absence, he has clearly been missed. As frustrating as Swanson can be at the plate in stretches, his defense is always big to have at this point in the season. Swanson’s glove was the MVP in the playoff series against San Diego last year. As good as Hoerner can be, the defense is at its best with Swanson at short and Hoerner at second.

Even with the frustrating stretches with the bat, he has 18 homers and a .404 slugging percentage in 119 games this year. Since June 20th, he’s hitting .271/.322/.530 with 10 homers. He provides power at the bottom of the lineup and has shown he can deliver some timely swings.

Dansby Swanson (oblique) is on track to get work in off the Trajekt and other machine work when Cubs return home this weekend, Counsell said.

That would set up Swanson to get some sort of game action, potentially with Triple-A Iowa or in Arizona, at the beginning of next week.

— Meghan Montemurro (@MegMontemurro) September 8, 2026

The big goal here is for him to be 100%. Fans might remember when he was not 100% healthy in September 2023 and what happened to him and the team. This target date is exactly what it is right now: the target. Not set in stone, but another seemingly good sign that he is progressing well.

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