The Chicago Cubs made some huge headlines over the last week by locking up not just one, but two of their critical stars who look like core pieces moving forward for the foreseeable future.
While the Pete Crow-Armstrong extension felt inevitable, Chicago retaining Nico Hoerner on a six-year deal came a little bit out of nowhere at the start of his final year under team control with the Cubs.
Hoerner was always going to be seen as tricky to retain, coming off an offseason full of trade rumors, and now Chicago has locked up multiple infield core pieces for at least the next half-decade.
During a press conference announcing the deal — which includes a no-trade clause — Hoerner spoke for the first time about what it means to him to be signing on to keep playing in Wrigley Field for potentially his remaining productive years.
Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner | Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images
Hoerner thrilled to remain with Cubs for long haul
“You talk about seven years of commitment and it’s a decision that goes very far outside of yourself (like) picturing potentially having a family in those years,” Hoerner said via the Chicago Tribune (subscription required).
“And there’s a whole lot of things that, in a good way, brought up good, challenging conversations and I think it just kind of helps get exercise for understanding your values and being in a place where I feel valued as a player, but as a person. The Cubs treat my family incredibly well and (I) have a home here that we love and I don’t think there’s a better place to be a baseball player.
“I think free agency is a special thing to get to experience, but it’s hard to imagine a situation that can top this….It’s such a historic organization to be able to be here for a significant chunk of that and hopefully be able to add to that history is a very meaningful thing.”
Hoerner means everything to Cubs organization
Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images
The trade rumors this offseason never made a whole lot of sense when you consider just how much Hoerner means to Chicago both at the plate and in the field, not to mention in the clubhouse.
This is a guy who has been worth nearly 20 bWAR over the last four seasons and does everything at an extremely high level while also serving as a critical leadership voice for the rest of the team. The prospect of losing him to free agency rightfully terrified Cubs fans, and now they won’t have to worry about that.
Hoerner is very much here to stay and stay for good, something which was a welcome sight to the entire city of Chicago.