Cubs Receiving Trade Interest In Second Baseman Nico Hoerner

It would require a ludicrous overpay, like the kind that isn't even realistic for it to make sense.

8 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

It would require a ludicrous overpay, like the kind that isn't even realistic for it to make sense.

When he was used so much last year, it's highly unlikely that he will be traded, even for a significant amount of money. 

1 hour ago, Tryptamine said:

It would require a ludicrous overpay, like the kind that isn't even realistic for it to make sense.

Yeah, trading Hoerner makes absolutely no sense, UNLESS the Cubs do something like trade for CJ Abrams.

I reported on this rumor not because I think it will happen, but because it's an interesting tidbit of information IMO.

Abrams is a terrible defender. Him being on the Cubs radar would be truly shocking to me.

7 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Yeah, trading Hoerner makes absolutely no sense, UNLESS the Cubs do something like trade for CJ Abrams.

I reported on this rumor not because I think it will happen, but because it's an interesting tidbit of information IMO.

Even that wouldn't make much sense. Abrams is a downgrade from Nico. So your 2026 squad is worse and you just had to dump a bunch of prospects to do it, likely more than you get for Nico because Abrams is under control for 3 years while Nico is only one. 

My willingness to get behind trading Nico relies on what exactly the Cubs plan is going forward.

The Cubs are going to need 4, maybe 5, starting position players for 2027. What are we doing?

Are we extending Nico? I don't get the feeling we are actually trying to build for a WS with all these current 1 year left players. So what is the plan?

6 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

Even that wouldn't make much sense. Abrams is a downgrade from Nico. So your 2026 squad is worse and you just had to dump a bunch of prospects to do it, likely more than you get for Nico because Abrams is under control for 3 years while Nico is only one. 

Hey now, I didn't say it was a great idea! But yes, you're right, even that doesn't make a lot of sense unless the Cubs are confident they can get more out of Abrams.

Trade Nico for a controllable pitcher.  Sign Bichette or sign Murakami or Okamoto and slide Shaw over to 2B????

10 minutes ago, chopsx9 said:

Trade Nico for a controllable pitcher.  Sign Bichette or sign Murakami or Okamoto and slide Shaw over to 2B????

What controlled pitcher are we getting for one year if Nico. 

34 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

What controlled pitcher are we getting for one year if Nico. 

Jose Berrios? Now, I don't do THAT trade but you wanted a name.  (What if the Jays included Ricky Tideman?) I don't pretend to know the universe of pitchers and their status'.  The Dodgers and Yankees were pretty desperate for infield help (as are the Jays).   The Dodgers have eleventy million pitchers.  The genesis of this thread is that the Cubs are being approached so there is outside interest which puts the Cubs at a bit of an advantage (for what that's worth)   It also doesn't need to be a one for one deal - you'd think one of the younger position players almost has to go this offseason.  Maybe a package gets it done.  Again the hypothesis isn't that Nico is being dumped - if a scenario isn't there to make the Club better you just don't do it.  

23 hours ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic are reporting the Cubs are receiving significant interest on second baseman Nico Hoerner in trade talks. They are clear in that the Cubs are not actively seeking to move the veteran.

Hoerner, 28 years old, was signed to a three-year, $35 million extension that runs through the 2026 season, buying out his remaining arbitration years. 

Over the past two seasons, he has been the Cubs’ everyday second baseman. In 2024, he played 151 games and logged 641 plate appearances with seven home runs, 86 runs scored, and 31 steals, along with a 6.9 percent walk rate and 10.3 percent strikeout rate. His triple slash was .273/.335/.373, with a .313 wOBA and 102 wRC+.  In 2025, he appeared in 156 games and 649 plate appearances, again hitting seven home runs with 89 runs scored and 29 steals. He posted a 6.0 percent walk rate, 7.6 percent strikeout rate, a .297/.345/.394 line, .324 wOBA and 109 wRC+, and 4.8 WAR. 

 

View full rumor

 

I think some of these offers or more so interested teams will likely be revisited closer to the trade deadline if the Cubs arent contending and Hoyer looks to move expiring contracts..

Be dumb to move him now if the goal is to return to the postseason 

20 hours ago, Cuzi said:

My willingness to get behind trading Nico relies on what exactly the Cubs plan is going forward.

The Cubs are going to need 4, maybe 5, starting position players for 2027. What are we doing?

Are we extending Nico? I don't get the feeling we are actually trying to build for a WS with all these current 1 year left players. So what is the plan?

They wont need that many if they don't bring back Hoerner Happ or Suzuki...

Theyll have Amaya, Busch, Swanson, Shaw, PCA, and hopefully Caissie and Ballesteros(DH)

So basically just need a LFer or RFer depending on where Caissie plays, and a 2Bmen.

If you really think about it, this roster worked out perfect for Ricketts/Hoyer if the plan is to not have too spend to much $$$ on bringing in FA the next couple offseasons because they have control of majority of the position players and a couple of prospects ready to come up and fill in the holes that will be vacated.

9 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

They wont need that many if they don't bring back Hoerner Happ or Suzuki...

Theyll have Amaya, Busch, Swanson, Shaw, PCA, and hopefully Caissie and Ballesteros(DH)

So basically just need a LFer or RFer depending on where Caissie plays, and a 2Bmen.

If you really think about it, this roster worked out perfect for Ricketts/Hoyer if the plan is to not have too spend to much $$$ on bringing in FA the next couple offseasons because they have control of majority of the position players and a couple of prospects ready to come up and fill in the holes that will be vacated.

 

I dont count on Amaya for much of anything. With him or not, the Cubs will still need a catcher, preferably one that can be relied upon to carry most of the load.

Busch, Swanson, and PCA are the only positions players absolutely locked into a spot. Everything else is a big question mark. I have faith Shaw can be a guy that can at the very least give you close, if not equal, performance to what Hoerner gives you at 2B.

But then plugging in a whole bunch of meh level rookies into 3B, LF, RF, DH, and whatever you decide to do at C and expecting them all to perform at the level of the veterans they replaced sounds like the absolutely dumbest expectations to go in with.

36 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

They wont need that many if they don't bring back Hoerner Happ or Suzuki...

Theyll have Amaya, Busch, Swanson, Shaw, PCA, and hopefully Caissie and Ballesteros(DH)

So basically just need a LFer or RFer depending on where Caissie plays, and a 2Bmen.

If you really think about it, this roster worked out perfect for Ricketts/Hoyer if the plan is to not have too spend to much $$$ on bringing in FA the next couple offseasons because they have control of majority of the position players and a couple of prospects ready to come up and fill in the holes that will be vacated.

 

Why would we assume Cassie or Bellestaros will contribute to the degree of Happ and Suzuki? If the plan is relying on unproven top 50 prospects who are potential downgrades then they better allocate the leftover $ into something bigger and better than a bunch of mid level vets on 2 year contracts. 

Sharma and Mooney put out a podcast this morning.  Most of it was kind of commiserating about how boring the winter meetings were.  But they did address this report and it was kind of fascinating.  I loosely transcribed what Mooney said

"We don't write every single thing we hear.  There's lots of stuff that ends up on the cutting room floor.  In order for us to write something it has to clear a pretty high bar in terms of who we're hearing it from, where we're hearing it, and how frequently we're hearing it.  And the Nico rumor cleared that."

They bookended it by saying the team loves him, he's probably not going anywhere, etc.  But I thought that was a notable bit of throat clearing. 

My guess is that the Cubs are not shopping him but that there is a team or two that is pretty seriously trying to make a run at Nico.  

Nico is probably my favorite player since the championship era. That's my irrational take for keeping him. My rational take is that we're very much in a win-now mode, and Nico is a very good player not making a lot of money, and it would be next to impossible to make the 2026 team better in a trade/series of moves where he gets moved. And, probably to a fault, I'm really pretty focused on the 2026 team and not the future teams.

Having said that....he's a hyper athletic guy who derives essentially all of his value from elite quickness defensively, high quality baserunning, and elite bat to ball contact skills. Is that, rationally, the kind of player we want to pay free agent prices for for his age 30-35 seasons? Less sure about that than I am about like...Ian Happ remaining a 120 wRC hitter and passable in the outfield or Seiya remaining a very good hitter. 

8 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

Nico is probably my favorite player since the championship era. That's my irrational take for keeping him. My rational take is that we're very much in a win-now mode, and Nico is a very good player not making a lot of money, and it would be next to impossible to make the 2026 team better in a trade/series of moves where he gets moved. And, probably to a fault, I'm really pretty focused on the 2026 team and not the future teams.

Having said that....he's a hyper athletic guy who derives essentially all of his value from elite quickness defensively, high quality baserunning, and elite bat to ball contact skills. Is that, rationally, the kind of player we want to pay free agent prices for for his age 30-35 seasons? Less sure about that than I am about like...Ian Happ remaining a 120 wRC hitter and passable in the outfield or Seiya remaining a very good hitter. 

Yeah I'm on the same page.  I struggle to see a scenario where the return for Hoerner blows my socks off (though devil's advocate, Hoerner's not much worse than Tucker?).  And I need my socks firmly on the other side of the room to not be irate about dealing Hoerner away.

But after this year?  I have little interest in extending Hoerner and I'm reaaaaallllyyyy hoping Jefferson Rojas and/or Cristian Hernandez make it an easy decision (on paper at least) to let him walk.

Honestly, just hoping we come away with one of Imai or King and then another pen arm. (Keller, Fairbanks or if we have to aim lower, Kopech). Then add a bat who can hit left handed pitching well, and fill in with lesser guys. I seriously doubt Bregman is a possibility. Wish Okamato is, but I think he will cost too much. Maybe if they get King and Kopech he is an option. 🤷

1 hour ago, Cuzi said:

I dont count on Amaya for much of anything. With him or not, the Cubs will still need a catcher, preferably one that can be relied upon to carry most of the load.

Busch, Swanson, and PCA are the only positions players absolutely locked into a spot. Everything else is a big question mark. I have faith Shaw can be a guy that can at the very least give you close, if not equal, performance to what Hoerner gives you at 2B.

But then plugging in a whole bunch of meh level rookies into 3B, LF, RF, DH, and whatever you decide to do at C and expecting them all to perform at the level of the veterans they replaced sounds like the absolutely dumbest expectations to go in with.

The point was is that they don't necessarily NEED to go out and bring in all those guys if they don't want to because they have guys already filling in those spots outside of adding 1 outfielder and a 2Bmen for the starting 8 positions.

Theyre definitely going to give Caissie an opportunity to fill an outfield spot in left or right, so that leave 2B, another outfielder that as of now will be open.

Sure they can upgrade at 3B over Shaw and they will add a 2nd catcher, but they currently now have 7 players that can start on OD for them in 2027 if you include Ballesteros as DH.

1 hour ago, Geographyhater8888 said:

Why would we assume Cassie or Bellestaros will contribute to the degree of Happ and Suzuki? If the plan is relying on unproven top 50 prospects who are potential downgrades then they better allocate the leftover $ into something bigger and better than a bunch of mid level vets on 2 year contracts. 

Wasn't assuming how much they'll contribute, just in my response to the post was just saying that they have guys currently on roster and starting now for them, or in system (Caissie, Ballesteros), that can be in 2027 OD lineup.

So if Hoyer chooses not to upgrade and basically keep the current guys he has, they just need to add a 2Bmen to replace Hoerner and another OFer to replace Happ.

Ballesteros can replace Suzuki as DH

Not saying that what going to happen just that in my response to Cuzi, they done HAVE to go out and get 4-5 new everyday players because as of now they can easily fill 7 of those spots with who they have if Hoyer chooses.

The ONLY reason to think about trading Nico is if the Cubs offered him a nice extension and he turned that down. He is a West Coast guy and may want to play for Dodgers who outspend everyone or the Giants from the area he grew up. IF and only if Nico doesn't want to play for the Cubs after this year would I consider a trade. If he hasn't been offered an extension, I would do it.

Easily most valuable position player who was better than Tucker. Swanson is a top level defensive SS. He may have a no trade clause. With Atlanta building back perhaps that would be the way to go. Right now our IF is superb defensively, do we want to change that? 

Yeah Nico is likeable and his content-oriented approach and stellar defense seem like they'll hold up awhile. Definitely wanna extend him if he's open to it and I can't see them trading him. He's a pending FA so he won't fetch a ton that it would be worth it to deal him and lose a 4-6 win player.

17 hours ago, chibears55 said:

Wasn't assuming how much they'll contribute, just in my response to the post was just saying that they have guys currently on roster and starting now for them, or in system (Caissie, Ballesteros), that can be in 2027 OD lineup.

So if Hoyer chooses not to upgrade and basically keep the current guys he has, they just need to add a 2Bmen to replace Hoerner and another OFer to replace Happ.

Ballesteros can replace Suzuki as DH

Not saying that what going to happen just that in my response to Cuzi, they done HAVE to go out and get 4-5 new everyday players because as of now they can easily fill 7 of those spots with who they have if Hoyer chooses.

 

I’m not calling you out specifically. If their goal is this perennial jack of all trades master of none roster building approach then 2-3 fWAR from Cassie and Bellestaros is good enough to fill a need at those positions. They’ll just stay stuck in this perennial 86 win loop without championship ambitions. Is this their plan? 

43 minutes ago, Geographyhater8888 said:

I’m not calling you out specifically. If their goal is this perennial jack of all trades master of none roster building approach then 2-3 fWAR from Cassie and Bellestaros is good enough to fill a need at those positions. They’ll just stay stuck in this perennial 86 win loop without championship ambitions. Is this their plan? 

I don't think this is the worst plan, provided they take that remaining money and maybe even blow through the LT at the trade deadline adding players of significance at positions of need. They will know more about playoffs on August 1st than they do before the season starts. 

If they beef up the rotation and wait out who is performing with the bats, I think they can make it work. I'm not saying it's the best plan, but I can understand that idea. 

19 minutes ago, BigbadB said:

I don't think this is the worst plan, provided they take that remaining money and maybe even blow through the LT at the trade deadline adding players of significance at positions of need. They will know more about playoffs on August 1st than they do before the season starts. 

If they beef up the rotation and wait out who is performing with the bats, I think they can make it work. I'm not saying it's the best plan, but I can understand that idea. 

 

 

Ideally. In the case you have Mo and Cassie providing 6 combined wins with the other 3 positions players under team control. If they go on spending sprees similar to 2015-16 with the available $ then that’s a plan I can live with. I just wish I had more faith in it happening. 
I still think they need an elite top of the order bat like Tucker. The royals were the last champion without one.