After losing to the series to the Cardinals, Craig Counsell’s job just got a lot tougher

In losing the weekend series to the division rival St. Louis Cardinals, the Chicago Cubs now find themselves 5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers, as they took 3 out of 4 from the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

However, losing ground to the Brewers was the least of their concerns on Sunday: A potential season-changing loss to one of their star players, their prized addition in the off-season, continues to look terrible, and dealing with Pete Crow-Armstrong’s slump.

Dansby Swanson’s injury hurts the defense

The first hit came as Shortstop Dansby Swanson injured his oblique after an awkward swing in the bottom of the 3rd.

Chicago Cubs SS Dansby Swanson left the game with an injury after an awkward swing. pic.twitter.com/1jDI1tnjYn

— ESPN (@espn) August 16, 2026

In the postgame interview, manager Craig Counsell said he is going on the IL, with an MRI scheduled for Monday. It is the kind of blow that reshapes a team’s identity. 

Without Swanson, Nico Hoerner will move from second and replace Swanson. But the infield defense takes a clear step back as turning double plays becomes a chore. If you watched Saturday’s game, in which the Cardinals rookie Joshua Báez hit three consecutive home runs in his professional debut, Swanson had the day off. They had a hard time turning double plays with Hoerner at short and rookie Pedro Ramirez at second. 

Many Cubs pitchers like to induce ground balls. If the defense is not up to par, they could lose confidence, which could lead to big innings for opposing teams.

Edward Cabrera’s disastrous outing puts him on thin ice

Before the game, the Cubs announced Edward Cabrera was reinstated into the rotation. In doing so, Javier Assad was sent down to AAA Iowa, and David Peterson was moved to the bullpen.

But Cabrera was not only bad, but his performance was also demoralizing. He lost command and looked uncomfortable. After PCA hit a 2-run home run to cut the lead to 3-2 in the 3rd inning, he completely lost the strike zone, issuing two consecutive walks with one out in the 4th inning. Cabrera gave back two runs before he was finally pulled. It was revealed he suffered another blister during the game. But he didn’t tell Counsell or the staff after he was removed. 

How could anyone trust Cabrera moving forward? Can you even trust him to pitch out of the bullpen? Imagine putting Cabrera over Peterson or Assad, who gets sent down. Do you think that’s going to go well inside the locker room?

Counsell now has to manage performance and psychology. He allowed Matthew Boyd to get rocked by Báez on all three home runs before finally pulling him on Saturday. He allowed the same thing to happen on Sunday. Counsell has to have the gumption to pull his starters while the Cubs are still in the game.

The way the Cubs badly misjudged Cabrera this season could have significant ramifications.

PCA struggling again in the second half

Even before hitting a 2-run home run on Sunday, Pete Crow‑Armstrong has been scuffling a bit. He was 0 for 8 in the first two games in this series. And during the 3-game series in Washington, he was only 2 for 15. He recorded 16 strikeouts from August 6 to August 15, and added 3 more strikeouts during Sunday’s game.

It is starting to look eerily similar to his second‑half fade from last season. Counsell can’t let him drown in daily pressure amidst the NL MVP race with Shohei Ohtani. As PCA goes, so will the Cubs. But if he struggles, the rest of the lineup could suffer. Counsell can’t allow that to happen to the point where they have another long losing streak and derail their postseason aspirations.

After a huge trade deadline, Counsell faces immense pressure to elevate the Cubs and make a deep postseason run. Now, the Cubs are about to enter a dangerous stretch with a compromised defense, a shaky rotation, and a young star slumping. Can Counsell keep the team together, or will they wilt under pressure? 

Counsell’s job just got a lot tougher after Sunday.