Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson on the new MLB rules: "I hate that we have to have rules to make the game the way it probably should be played"

Dansby Swanson made the Atlanta Braves home for the first seven seasons of his big league career after the Arizona Diamondbacks traded the first overall pick of the 2015 MLB June Amateur Draft to Atlanta for pitcher Shelby Miller.

However, on the heels of his finest offensive season and first All-Star selection in 2022, Swanson left the Braves to sign a seven-year, $177 million free agent deal with the Chicago Cubs last December.

It's a whole new world for Dansby Swanson in 2023. Not only is he with a new team, but there are a bevy of new rules that will change how the game is played going forward.

Everyone involved in baseball has had their say on MLB's new guidelines, and now Swanson has had his say:

"I think the intentions are good. I hate that we have to have rules to make the game the way it probably should be played. I'm excited to see what it looks like in spring...and how you can use things to your advantage," Swanson told Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago.

A native of the Atlanta suburb of Kennesaw, Georgia, Dansby Swanson explained during his introductory press conference on Dec. 21st, that signing with the Cubs was about more than a paycheck.

"Being a Cub means more to me than people would realize," Swanson said. "It's no secret I left my hometown team to be here. But I kept telling everyone it's more personal to me."

Swanson noted that the Cubs were his grandfather's favorite team before the Braves moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta in 1966. Now that he helped the Braves win the 2021 World Series, he would like to win one with his grandpa's other favorite team.

President Jed Hoyer of the Chicago Cubs presents a jersey to Dansby Swanson #7 during his introductory press conference

Dansby Swanson called "a bargain" signing by former MLB executive

Former MLB executive David Samson recently told the "Off-Air" podcast on the Audacy Network that the Braves did the right thing by letting Swanson go. However, Samson added that the Cubs got a bargain in signing him rather than going after Carlos Correa and Xander Bogaerts.

Dansby Swanson hit a career-best .277 and 96 RBI last season with 25 home runs -- short of his big-league high of 27 in 2021. He won his first Gold Glove for defensive prowess and now brings his 14.5 career WAR to Wrigley Field.