Dansby Swanson
Profile: Shortstop
Bats/Throws: R/R
Age: 28 (2/11/1994)
2022 Traditional Stats: 162 G, 696 PA, .277/.329/.447/.776, 25 HR, 96 RBI, 177 H
2022 Advanced Stats: 115 OPS+, 5.7 bWAR, 7.0 BB%, 26.2 SO%, 46.4 HardH%, .348 BABIP, .170 ISO
Rundown
Dansby Swanson started his MLB career among the likes of Ken Griffey Jr., Chipper Jones, and Álex Rodríguez. Drafted first overall in 2015, the Arizona Diamondbacks selected Swanson over MLB All-Stars Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker, Andrew Benintendi, Ian Happ, Walker Buehler, Mike Soroka, and Austin Riley.
Swanson spent only one minor league season with the Diamondbacks before being traded in a package to the Atlanta Braves for Shelby Miller. Returning home to Georgia, Swanson rose through the minor league systems fast and made his major league debut on August 16, 2016. In a small sample size, Swanson was stellar in 38 games as he hit .302 with an OPS+ of 115.
Swanson, however, was not able to replicate his rookie season and struggled for three consecutive years due to poor performance and injury. From 2017 to 2019, he averaged an OPS under .700 and OPS+ under 90. Defensively, Swanson struggled as well as he led all National League shortstops with 20 errors in 2017. Two major injuries, one to his wrist in 2018, and one to his heel in 2019, prevented Swanson from breaking out offensively and hampered his power numbers.
Putting his injuries behind him, Swanson finally played up to his potential over his last three seasons in Atlanta. His power numbers came to fruition and from 2020 to 2022, Swanson finished in the top six in home runs hit by shortstops over this time period. For the first time since his rookie year, he also recorded an OPS+ above 100 in 2020 and 2022. Swanson’s defense drastically improved as well. From 2020 to 2022, he finished with a positive outs above average (OAA) and first overall with 21 OAA in 2022. Swanson was also named as a Gold Glove finalist in 2020 and 2022.
While Swanson developed slowly for Atlanta, he eventually became one of the best shortstops in the league and helped the Braves win a championship. He was also able to put his injury woes to bed and from 2020 to 2022, Swanson played in every game, including being the only player in 2022 to play every game.
Contract
Swanson settled for $10 million with the Braves via arbitration for the 2022 season. He has reached his six years of service time and will become a free agent in the 2022 off season.
According to Sportrac.com, Swanson is estimated to receive an annual-average value of $24.8 million and sign a $148.81-million deal over six years.
Even with Trea Turner, Carlos Correa, and Xander Bogaerts bound to hit the free agent market this off-season, Swanson’s contract may just mirror the one rumored by Sportrac.com. He is the best defensive shortstop out of the four and has proven himself to bring almost as much offense. What may be the most important, Swanson is also on the right side of 30 years old and will be in his expected prime for the time being.
Recommendation
Signing Swanson would not make much sense from the Mets’ perspective. They already have their franchise cornerstone in one of the best shortstops, if not the best, in the league with Francisco Lindor. Not to mention, one of the Mets’ top prospects is a shortstop, Ronny Mauricio.
While Swanson is a great player, he is land locked at shortstop and playing at a different position would not make too much sense. The Mets would be better off signing someone like Trea Turner who has experience playing different positions.
