The Chicago Cubs and All-Star shortstop Dansby Swanson agreed to a seven-year, $177-million contract, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Swanson’s pact includes a no-trade clause and has no opt-outs, per Sherman.

If it wasn’t apparent there’s a very real possibility Swanson will leave as a free agent, it should be now. The Braves sent Grissom from his home in Orlando, Florida, to New Orleans on Sunday to work with “Wash,” the first of three planned one-week sessions designed for one thing: to get the 21-year-old ready to play shortstop on a regular basis in the majors.

Grissom is staying in a downtown hotel and working out for about three hours each day with Washington at New Orleans Youth Academy, which is operated by MLB. Washington recently told Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos that he could get Grissom ready to play shortstop by spring training.

“That’s why they’re giving me time with him right now — to get him right,” Washington said. “Get him thinking right, getting him to understand the nuances of being a shortstop, the things you have to do, the way you have to go about your business. You know, he’s a young kid. A young kid that’s just used to going out there, putting the gloves on and playing. There’s a lot more to playing defense than just putting the glove on and going out there, and if the ball comes to you, you catch it.

“So I’m taking this opportunity to instill as much as I possibly can in him, so that when we hit spring training, if it so happens that we don’t sign Dansby back, we have some options. We also have Arcia. So we’ve got some options. But this kid (Grissom) has got some upside. And we’ve got to have him ready for whatever may go down.”

Swanson’s future
If last year’s Freddie Freeman negotiations reminded us of anything, it’s that “mutual interest” really doesn’t mean anything until a deal is done. There’s no doubt the Braves would like to keep Dansby Swanson, who has made it clear he’d like to continue playing for his hometown team. A four-year, $60 million deal may have seemed fair as recently as May. But the veteran shortstop’s production this year increased his cost approximately $5 million per year.

Snitker and many of the Braves have expressed how much they want Swanson back. Anthopoulos took time to discuss how highly he thinks of the All-Star shortstop.

“He gets better every year,” Anthopoulos said. “You can look at his stats and he’s always been a good teammate, but I think he rose to new levels. I told him that as well. I’ve been impressed with him across the board. He’s as good a teammate as you’re going to find.”