The Cubs have their shortstop.
Dansby Swanson and the Cubs agreed Saturday on a seven-year, $177 million contract, The Post’s Joel Sherman reported. The deal, which was first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan, includes a full no-trade clause.
Rumors had been swirling since the summer that the Cubs would be significant players for a free-agent shortstop. Carlos Correa, Trea Turner and Xander Boegaerts were all off the market after signing with the Giants, Phillies and Padres, respectively, so Swanson, the former Brave, was the last of the big four available.
Initial reports had indicated the Cubs favored Correa and Bogaerts, but Swanson emerged during the winter meetings as the team’s “most realistic target at shortstop,” according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.
The Swanson signing was also the latest in an offseason of aggressive moves by the Cubs. They previously added starting pitcher and former Yankee Jameson Taillon and the Dodgers’ former MVP outfielder Cody Bellinger.
In the 28-year-old Swanson, the Cubs get a rising star who made his first All-Star team in 2022 and won a World Series with the Braves in 2021. He will help give the Cubs formidable defense up the middle. Nico Hoerner will move back to second base, the position at which he was a Gold Glove finalist in 2020. Bellinger also will give the Cubs solid defense in center field.
Last season, Swanson had a slash line of .277/.329/.447, with 25 homers, 96 RBIs and a career-high 115 OPS+, while playing in all 162 games. He also played in all but two games in 2021 while helping the Braves to the title.
Swanson is a career .255 hitter with 102 home runs over seven seasons, but 52 of those came over the past two years. He also struck out a career-high 182 times in 2022.
The Cubs are coming off a 74-88 campaign in which they finished third in the NL Central, 19 games behind the division champion Cardinals. They have been under pressure to improve a roster that has been completely turned over from their 2016 World Series championship team, and Swanson qualifies as the biggest free-agent they’ve signed in a number of years.
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