Cubs place starting infielder on injured list with knee issue

The Cubs are placing shortstop Dansby Swanson on the 10-day injured list due to a right knee sprain, with outfielder Seiya Suzuki reinstated from the IL in a corresponding move. The move is retroactive to May 8, per Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Swanson has been bothered by his knee since playing the Astros a few weeks ago, tweaking it during a slide, per Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic on X. That timeline corresponds with a downturn in Swanson’s production, as he was hitting .236/.310/.393 after the Houston series but just .150/.227/.225 since.

The fact that he’s been able to play through the issue perhaps suggests it isn’t major and he’ll be able to make a quick return, though further updates will undoubtedly be forthcoming in the next few weeks.

Nico Hoerner should cover shortstop for however long Swanson is out, which could lead to Nick Madrigal or Miles Mastrobuoni covering the keystone. Neither of them are having a good year at the plate, with Madrigal at .217/.265/.283 for the year and Mastrobuoni at a dismal .000/.067/.000.

Swapping one of those two in for Swanson will hurt the Cubs’ lineup, but that will be at least partially offset by the return of Suzuki. He was hitting a scorching hot .305/.368/.525 through 15 games before a right oblique strain sent him to the IL.

Cody Bellinger has been acting as the club’s designated hitter for the past three games since he was reinstated from his own IL stint, but one of the two will have to be in the field if the Cubs want both bats in the lineup on a regular basis. Those two figure to be sharing the DH spot and outfield playing time with Pete Crow-Armstrong, Ian Happ and Mike Tauchman.