Editor’s note: The Cubs enter the winter hoping to build a team that can make the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since doing so four years in a row from 2015 to 2018. We look at each position on the Cubs’ roster as they aim to get back to October baseball in 2026.

Next up: Shortstop.

Depth chartDansby SwansonNico HoernerHayden CantrelleEd HowardAnalysis

There are few things more secure than the Chicago Cubs’ immediate future at shortstop.

For several positions across the diamond, impending free agency makes it hard to say what will happen in 2026 and beyond.

But then there’s Dansby Swanson, whom the Cubs have locked down through at least 2029 after he signed a seven-year, $177 million contract ahead of the 2023 season.

In his third campaign with the Cubs, Swanson slashed .244/.300/.417 (.717 OPS) with 24 home runs and 77 RBI. The 31-year-old posted a 4.5 bWAR and a 3.3 fWAR, both of which were the fifth-best mark on the roster. He played in a team-high 159 regular-season games as well.

Swanson’s Achilles’ heel at the plate this season was hitting with runners in scoring position — a team-worst .204 average with RISP perhaps shrouded the strides he made as a power hitter. His hard-hit percentage (47.8) was the best of his career, as was his barrel percentage (11.7) and his average exit velocity (90.5 mph).

Though primarily known for his defense, the two-time Gold Glove Award winner’s advanced metrics took a slight step back in 2025. He recorded just four outs above average this season, compared to 17 last year and 20 in 2023. His seven defensive runs saved were equal to his 2024 number but 10 fewer than 2023, which was also the last time he won a Gold Glove.

But it was Swanson’s playoff performance this season that reiterated his value to the Cubs as a defender. He made multiple stellar plays in the Wild Card Series, including an over-the-shoulder catch to rob San Diego Padres DH Ryan O’Hearn of an RBI single in the Cubs’ Game 1 win.

Swanson’s heroics earned him the highest of praise from former San Diego manager Mike Shildt after the Cubs clinched the series — Shildt said he would have given Swanson the MVP of the series if there were such an award for the wild-card round.

“Dansby Swanson absolutely beat us with his glove this series.”

Padres manager Mike Schildt on Dansby Swanson’s defensive play in the NL Wild Card Series. pic.twitter.com/U4GnMZPdb7

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) October 3, 2025 What’s next?

Much like his middle-infield compatriot Nico Hoerner, Swanson is a constant presence on the field and rarely misses time due to injury. Hoerner was the Cubs’ primary shortstop before Swanson signed with the team and is an air-tight replacement at the position if the team ever needs him.

Because Swanson only missed three games in 2025, nobody else got many innings at shortstop besides the handful that Hoerner (eight games, three starts, 37 innings) got. The only other players to make an appearance at short were Vidal Bruján, Nicky Lopez and Gage Workman — all three of whom are no longer with the organization.

In terms of minor league depth, the Iowa Cubs’ primary shortstop this past season was 26-year-old Hayden Cantrelle — a 2020 fifth-round pick for the Milwaukee Brewers whom the Cubs selected in the Minor League phase of the 2023 Rule 5 draft.

Chicago native Ed Howard, the Cubs’ 2020 first-rounder, has seen much of his minor league career derailed by injury. The 23-year-old played 116.1 innings at shortstop in 2025, but the bulk of that (104.1 innings) came with Double-A Knoxville.

The Cubs’ future at the shortstop position rests more on younger prospects. They have three in their top 30 list per MLB Pipeline: 20-year-old Jefferson Rojas (No. 4), 21-year-old Cristian Hernandez (No. 11) and 17-year-old Juan Tomas (No. 16).

Rojas started 37 games at shortstop for Knoxville in 2025 after his promotion from High-A South Bend. Hernandez played 95 games at short for South Bend this past season, while Tomas — whom one scout compared to Cincinnati Reds star Elly De La Cruz — registered 34 starts at shortstop for the rookie-level Dominican Summer League (DSL) Cubs.

Bottom line

The Cubs have to look no further than Swanson when thinking about the shortstop position for 2026. It’s one of the more straightforward answers we’re going to give here in this State of the Cubs series.

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