Dansby Swanson, Braves ‘Haven’t Had Any Legit Negotiations’ Since $100M Offer During Season

Dansby Swanson is one of two remaining shortstops from the original class of four and he’s probably feeling really good about being among the last men standing. Trea Turner got $300 million over 11 years from the Phillies, Xander Bogaerts shocked everyone by getting 10 years and $280 million from the Padres, and Carlos Correa should easily top both figures. Even if Swanson comes in far lower than his colleagues, he may be in line for something close to $200 million.

That’s roughly double the six years and around $16.5 million the Braves reportedly offered him during the season. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports that the two sides “haven’t had any legit negotiations since the offseason began” and that their only real communication came when Swanson reached out to baseball boss Alex Anthopoulos because he hadn’t heard anything from the team. Coming from a team that has worked out several long-term deals to keep players around, that’s not a great indication of their desire to do the same with Swanson.

Nor is that contract offer a sign of good faith, as it’s well below what anyone expected even before free agency went nuts. It almost feels like the kind of situation with Willson Contreras signing in St. Louis, though the All-Star catcher didn’t even get a laughable low-ball offer. My point is more that Swanson was probably more offended by the perceived lack of effort than the attempt at a cheap trick and is now looking for a more willing suitor.

In other words, he wants someone to want him.

We’ve discussed here more than once why Swanson would be attracted to the Cubs, and multiple reports have the team showing a good deal of interest in him as well. What was initially a sourced report about a green light for Jed Hoyer to spend has since become public record, so it feels like the Cubs are going to have to do something soon. If the front office is unwilling to do what it takes to land Correa in this environment, Swanson is basically their Obi-Wan Kenobi.

You know, because he’s their only hope.

Blogging rules dictate that you have to wrap a post once you’ve made two dad jokes in less than three paragraphs, so I guess we have to be done here. I’m not sure this gives us any clarity about what the Cubs are going to do, though it may at least tell us about what Swanson probably won’t do. How’s that for definitive?