When the Atlanta Braves were unable to come to terms with Dansby Swanson on an extension, it was inevitable that Dansby was going to get a lot off attention on the free agent market. He has been very productive the last several years at the plate, he is a great defender, and he isn’t going to require a contract like the crazy megadeal that Trea Turner just signed with the Phillies.
The Phillies were interested in Dansby before filling their vacancy, the Cubs have expressed some level of enthusiasm in his free agent case, and teams like the Dodgers, Mariners, Red Sox, Twins, and Orioles make some levels of sense.
You can now add the St. Louis Cardinals to the teams that seem to be looking at Dansby.
#STLCards among teams with interest in Dansby Swanson, as I reported in this @MLBNetwork segment earlier today. @MLB pic.twitter.com/2aZ5qMl1TI
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 5, 2022
Why the Cardinals could be a fit for the Cardinals
With Tommy Edman and Brendan Donovan, the Cardinals don’t necessarily NEED a shortstop per se, but it sounds like they know that the best players in free agency this year are shortstops and have been active in looking at guys like Dansby and Xander Bogaerts. The Cards are set at the corners with Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt, but adding a shortstop like Dansby would give them some roster versatility and potential make other players available for trades to improve the squad at catcher, the rotation, or the bullpen.
The Cardinals also have some room in their payroll as they luxury tax payroll number currently sits at a touch over $162 million for 2023. As their fans are fond of pointing out, Cardinals fans continually fill out home games, so St. Louis can afford a signing like Dansby.
The downside, of course, is that the Cardinals are among the teams that Braves fans despise the most, especially of those outside the division. If the Braves were to lose Dansby to the hated Cardinals, well…it may be best to avoid social media in general for a little while.