The Cubs will spend the next four weeks without their starting shortstop, which is no small thing in the middle of a playoff race.
Dansby Swanson is a critical part of the Cubs’ championship puzzle, playing Gold Glove defense at one of the premier positions in the game and, if at times quietly, providing ample offensive production. (He ranked fourth on the roster with 18 home runs entering Tuesday.)
So keeping the Cubs’ best-in-baseball defense humming and one of the top-scoring offenses in the game firing on as many cylinders as possible — all while trying to close the gap on the National League Central-leading Brewers — becomes tougher with Swanson sidelined by a strained oblique.
‘‘It’s a huge deal,’’ said second baseman Nico Hoerner, who has taken over everyday shortstop duties in Swanson’s absence. ‘‘He’s at the heart of everything we do. It shows up in his production on both sides of the ball but also [in] all the things that you can’t measure: the consistency and the person.
‘‘Obviously, he’s going to stay involved as much as he can. He loves the game. He loves this group. But we’re going to really miss him a lot.’’
Yes, it seems Swanson, even while he is kept from the field, has no plans to stop making an impact for a Cubs team chasing a championship.
Even before he got hurt, there were descriptions of the important conversations teammates were having with Swanson. Now, that will be among his chief contributions while he recovers.
‘‘He’s a guy that I really respect the knowledge of the game that he has,’’ third baseman Alex Bregman said last week. ‘‘We bounce things off of each other over the course of the season, whether it’s about us or our teammates, hitting, defense, pitching, whatever it may be.
‘‘We’re looking to do one thing, and that’s win. Both of us, our whole career, have won. What wakes us up in the morning every single day is to win baseball games.’’
It’s enough that Swanson already is being looked at not just as a teammate but as something of an addition to — and extension of — the coaching staff.
‘‘He was hurt a couple of years ago, he was out for a little bit,’’ left fielder Ian Happ said Monday. ‘‘He turns into another coach. So he’ll be around. He’ll be giving his input.’’
On the field, the Cubs will lean on Hoerner, a Gold Glove infielder in his own right, who has played shortstop in the big leagues before, albeit not too much in recent seasons. Pedro Ramirez, a rookie who has impressed with the bat and the glove as a part-timer, will shoulder a bigger load as the everyday second baseman for the next few weeks.
‘‘It is different playing short,’’ Hoerner said. ‘‘It’s a harder position. There’s a little more, physically, behind it. . . . I’m comfortable there. I’m confident in being able to play the position.
‘‘Pedro, from early in spring training, has shown so much maturity and confidence, a good sense of humor. He’s a guy that seems to do everything on a baseball field at a high level. We’re very confident in him.’’
It’s a new wrinkle for the Cubs, who despite nearly being buried by an avalanche of pitching injuries have been at nearly full strength on the position-player side for the vast majority of the season.
They managed to weather that barrage of pitching injuries and are one of the best teams in the majors, waking up Tuesday with the fifth-best record after their thrilling walk-off, extra-inning victory Monday against the crosstown-rival White Sox.
Now, they’ll have to weather Swanson’s absence as they get closer to the homestretch of the regular season and the playoffs. But at least Swanson still will be doing what he can to help the Cubs reach the mountaintop.
‘‘That’s just who he is,’’ Hoerner said. ‘‘He’s invested in this team and the people on this team. I’m sure it’s incredibly frustrating for him to not be able to be out there. But we all know where his priorities lie, and it’s fun that how he wants to spend his time and energy is with the group.’’
