Chicago Cubs 2025 Position Analysis: Second Base

[Andrew Wright]

The entire offseason for the Chicago Cubs felt like it revolved around whether Nico Hoerner or Matt Shaw would be the starting second baseman on Opening Day. The trade rumors were swirling surrounding Hoerner, and we were all but certain that he would be moved. Now, it appears the status quo has won out.

Image courtesy of © David Banks-Imagn Images

Note that we're operating under the assumption in this piece that Matt Shaw will not be making the trip to Japan. If he's healthy, he'll certainly be the starter at second base.

With news that Nico Hoerner will not be making the trip overseas and will stay back in the states and continue to work his way back from injury and prepare for Chicago's first road series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, that begs the question of: who in the world is going to play second on Opening Day?

Well, quite frankly, nobody really knows, and we won't know until the end of Spring Training. Chicago has quite a few options in what it could possibly do, and the rest of the spring will reveal that. Here are all of manager Craig Counsell's assumed options: 

Gage Workman, Jon Berti, James Triantos, Nicky Lopez (NRI)

Those four are more than likely going to be competing for the second and third base positions come Opening Day. They also are probably all competing for the opening at third base as well, and the top-two performers will see the majority of the playing time over the two games in Japan. As to what can be expected from each, let's dig into it. 

Berti is the veteran of the group, as 2025 will mark his eighth season in the MLB. He is a career .259 hitter, and he is hoping to spend more time on the field this season than he did in 2024, when he appeared in just 25 games for the New York Yankees. Berti has played every position on the diamond except for pitcher and catcher, and his versatility was a big part of the reason he earned a one-year, $3 million contract from Chicago in the offseason. He would bring the most experience to a position that will see a lot of action in Tokyo when ground-ball pitchers Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele toe the rubber.

Workman was selected in the Rule 5 Draft by the Cubs and must remain on the 26-man roster or else he will be returned to his previous team (assuming the Detroit Tigers want him back). He started Spring Training with a bang, going 3-for-5 with a home run in his first two games. He has kept that pace up, with a 1.059 OPS through 23 at-bats as of March 4. Of all the options available, he is currently the most likely to play third base instead of second, as third is his natural position, but the possibility of Justin Turner playing third base could mean Workman starts the year on the bench.

Triantos' spring is off to a middling start. He is 3-for-15 at the plate with three RBIs and his OPS sits at just .502, quite a bit below his career average of .766 in the minor leagues. He is the No. 73 ranked prospect in MLB.com's rankings, and his MLB debut feels imminent. He will need to increase his production the rest of the way in the spring and if he does, we could very well see him take his first big league at-bats against Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the middle of March.

Lopez is a local kid that is a fun story for Cubs fans and he's easy to root for. He is an NRI (non-roster invite) and is certainly making the most of it, as he is 9-for-18 in Spring Training with an OPS of 1.202. It would certainly be hard for Lopez to replicate those numbers for the rest of the spring, but if he does, the choice for second base will not be a hard one to make at all.

The one downside to losing Hoerner for a couple games is losing his Gold Glove caliber defense. None of the four guys are that quality of a defender at any position, and that may be costly in a couple of close games. Chicago should be able to manage the two-game series in Tokyo and then be at full strength with Hoerner and Shaw when the team travels to Arizona to fully kick off its 2025 season.

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