When Dansby Swanson signed a 7-year, $177 million deal with the Cubs, he was expecting to be playing postseason baseball at Wrigley Field. After consecutive 83-79 seasons without making the playoffs, the Cubs shortstop is hoping for better results this year.

Swanson talked with former Cub Mark DeRosa of MLB Network regarding the vibe in Cubs camp:

“We’re really deep this year,” Swanson told DeRosa. “I think pitching-wise, we got a lot deeper. Adding [outfielder Kyle Tucker] was a huge move for us.”

The Cubs targeted veteran pitchers to strengthen their depth, including starting pitcher Matt Boyd (2.72 ERA in 2024) and relief pitchers Ryan Pressly (3.49 ERA, 112 career saves) and Ryan Brasier (3.54 ERA).

While Kyle Tucker’s arrival is the main attraction in the Cubs lineup, Swanson is also impressed by the options at the utility positions.

[Cubs’ OF Kyle Tucker: ‘Don’t think I could have gone to a much better organization than the Cubs’]

“Just even some professional depth in terms like the utility positions,” the shortstop said. “[We] have a great mix of lefties, righties, speed, experience.”

To help fill the bench, the Cubs signed veteran catcher Carson Kelly, infielders Jon Berti and Justin Turner — all of whom are right-handed hitters. They acquired former top-100 prospect Vidal Bruján — a switch-hitter — in a trade with the Marlins and selected lefty infielder Gage Workman in the Rule 5 Draft in December.

[Could Vidal Bruján believes his speed could make him difference-maker]

“I feel like there’s just so many things that we do well as a group,” Swanson said. “It’s one of the teams that I find really fun to be a part of because it’s a really good baseball team. I think that we’ll really kind of pair off of each other well.”

In Swanson’s third season on the North Side, the Cubs are the betting favorite to win the NL Central (-120 odds per Circa Sports).