SAN ANTONIO — If Nico Hoerner isn’t ready to start next season on time, the Chicago Cubs believe they already have in-house options to cover for the Gold Glove second baseman. Hoerner’s recovery from flexor tendon surgery comes with an uncertain timeline that could create a new opportunity for Matt Shaw, the top prospect in a deep farm system.
Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said he didn’t anticipate a “ripple effect” from Hoerner’s right forearm injury. Identifying another middle infielder to work with Dansby Swanson will not be a priority during Major League Baseball’s general managers’ meetings.
So much will happen between here and Opening Day 2025. But now that Cody Bellinger has opted in for $30 million guaranteed next season, the Cubs have a fairly clear idea of the position players who should be there for the Tokyo Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Even if Hoerner’s estimated return won’t be known until he reports for spring training, this setback would seemingly take that trade concept off the table.
“It’s a credit to his toughness that he was able to play through it and play really well,” Hoyer said Monday night at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa. “But, yeah, you could see it on some plays where he didn’t have quite as much on the throw. It made sense right after the season to get it checked out.
“No sense of timelines yet, but we expect a full recovery.”
It’s not like the Cubs were ever eager to trade Hoerner, a homegrown player who has generated 13 WAR over the last three seasons combined (per Baseball Reference). His speed, elite defense, baseball IQ and contact skills are valuable. It’s more that the Cubs don’t have many obvious openings or easy ways to reimagine their everyday lineup, given their financial commitments, contracts with no-trade clauses and the emergence of young talent such as center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.
That setup is part of why the Cubs are expected to aggressively pursue pitchers who would strengthen the top of their rotation and the back end of their bullpen.
The Cubs also want to create lanes for their up-and-coming prospects. The organization landed eight players on MLB.com’s rankings of the sport’s top 100 prospects. Of that group, seven are position players, and five already have Triple-A experience. If needed, Hoyer mentioned both Shaw and James Triantos as options at second base while Hoerner gets up to speed.
Dropping those names is a reminder that Hoyer didn’t spend years rebuilding the farm system with the idea that he would trade away all the prospects in one winter and go all-in for one or two seasons. The Cubs certainly have the resources to make a blockbuster deal. No one is ruling out that possibility this offseason. But the Hoerner situation illustrates what the Cubs are building.
“When I look at where we are for next year, we have multiple corner outfielders who can step in if someone goes down,” Hoyer said. “We have infielders (who can step up). It is really nice to have that kind of depth. When you talk about farm systems, a lot of times they’re talking about guys in High A, Low A. It’s great to have that pipeline. But you’re talking about non-usable pieces in the big leagues. Our guys are rapidly becoming usable major-league depth.”
(Photo of Nico Hoerner: Kyle Ross / Imagn Images)
