MLB Rumors: NL Central Team Leading Suitor For Dansby Swanson

The Atlanta Braves have their work cut out for them trying to hang on to their hometown All-Star shortstop Dansby Swanson. And if they can't come to terms, a report has the St. Louis Cardinals as the leading suitor to scoop him up.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, "if Swanson doesn’t return (to Atlanta), executives predict that he could wind up with the St. Louis Cardinals. They have loads of money, and GMs and executives believe Swanson would be the ideal fit."

MLB Insider Jon Morosi has confirmed this morning that the Cardinals are hot and heavy into the shortstop market, despite earlier trends to the contrary. 

The #STLCards are active in the free agent shortstop market, sources say, as I reported earlier today on @MLBNetwork.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 5, 2022

The Braves are still somewhat confident, despite Nightengale's report that their latest offer is around $100M, while Swanson countered with $140M, and "neither side has budged."

Alex Anthopoulos spoke to Dansby Swanson. "Great conversation," Anthopoulos said. He didn't go much further than that, except to add that his "conversations with (Swanson) are always great."

— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) December 4, 2022

Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos said he had a "great conversation" with Swanson on the weekend. 

But other teams have shown plenty of interest for the 28-year-old as well, including the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and now the Los Angeles Angels.

#Angels have made a few “preliminary offers” to Dansby Swanson. Although, they weren’t “strong” offers, Perry wants him.

Swanson does not mind playing out West and would love to play with Trouty & Ohtani. Interested to see how this all plays out.

— AngelsBaseballTalk (@AngelsTalk27) December 4, 2022

Xander Bogaerts, Trea Turner and Carlos Correa are all out there as well, and all have multiple suitors. The Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins, respectively, are all still hoping to retain their own free agent if possible, but this could easily be a game of shortstop musical chairs, and teams will be shuffling around to see who's left standing. 

 Photo: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports