![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/nico-hoerner-dansby-swanson-e1768110806715.jpg\")
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With Alex Bregman signing with the Chicago Cubs, the question is what Nico Hoerner’s future holds.<\/p>\n
The Chicago Cubs<\/a> are the ultimate winners of the Alex Bregman<\/a> sweepstakes. Bregman and the Cubs have reportedly agreed to a five-year, $175 million deal<\/a>. Combined with the Edward Cabrera trade<\/a>, Chicago is loading up to try to take the National League Central for the first time since 2017.<\/p>\n With Bregman handling third base for the foreseeable future, that pushes Matt Shaw<\/a> out of the position he held in 2025. A middle infielder by trade, he moved over to the hot corner after the Cubs traded Isaac Paredes and Cam Smith to the Houston Astros<\/a> in the Kyle Tucker trade.<\/p>\n With Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner, and Michael Busch<\/a> manning the other three infield positions, there\u2019s no room for Shaw in their lineup. All three players started at least 155 games in 2025, so it\u2019s unlikely the Cubs use their young infielder as a super utility infielder.<\/p>\n With an infield logjam, the Cubs could have a franchise-defining decision at second base ahead of them. Trade or demote the young, controllable infielder in Shaw, or say goodbye to a franchise stalwart in Hoerner? That decision will say a lot about the Cubs\u2019 direction, prioritizing the next season vs. the five after that.<\/p>\n Why the Cubs Could Move Nico Hoerner<\/p>\n This offseason represents the best opportunity to sell high on Hoerner. Hoerner is in the final year of a three-year extension he signed in 2023. His $12 million salary for 2026 is a massive bargain for the value he brings to a team.<\/p>\n Hoerner was the Cubs\u2019 first round pick in the 2018 MLB<\/a> Draft, selected 24th overall out of Stanford University. A year later, he made his major league debut. While coming up as a shortstop, he\u2019s spent most of his career at second base. He and Dansby Swanson have formed the best defensive middle infield pairing since 2023.<\/p>\n In the past three seasons, he is only second to the Diamondbacks\u2019 Ketel Marte in WAR<\/a>. Not only does he have a serviceable bat, but he\u2019s won two Gold Gloves at second base. While not an elite hitter like Marte, he creates a lot of value with defense and baserunning.<\/p>\n With Bo Bichette<\/a> likely to land a hefty guarantee this offseason, Hoerner represents a possible upgrade on a more affordable salary. He\u2019s coming off a career season in 2025, slashing .297\/.345\/.394 with a 114 OPS+ and edged out Marte in fWAR (4.8 to 4.6).<\/p>\n The Cubs could sell high and get a quality return on Hoerner while sliding in Shaw at second base long-term.<\/p>\n Potential Trade Destinations for Hoerner<\/p>\n The most natural destinations for Hoerner would be teams that missed out on Marte. The teams that were the most connected to the Diamondbacks\u2019 All-Star were the Boston Red Sox<\/a>, Seattle Mariners, and Tampa Bay Rays<\/a>. The San Francisco Giants<\/a> could also be a potential trade partner.<\/p>\n For the same reason they\u2019d be in on Marte, they should be with Hoerner. Since he\u2019s under contract for just one season, he\u2019ll have a considerably lower acquisition cost. The team that trades him could give Hoerner a qualifying offer after the 2026 season. That should make him attractive to smaller market clubs.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMichael McDermott<\/a> Michael McDermott is a writer at Heavy Sports covering the Arizona Diamondbacks and Major League Baseball. Michael has 10 years experience writing about the D-backs and their farm system for AZ Snake Pit, Burn City Sports, and Diamondbacks On SI. More about Michael McDermott<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Cubs\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty With Alex Bregman signing with the Chicago Cubs, the question is what Nico Hoerner’s future holds. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":514763,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2399],"tags":[5,138,24,4245,161,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-514762","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-cubs","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-chicago-cubs","11":"tag-chicagocubs","12":"tag-cubs","13":"tag-mlb"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115875293725525275","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=514762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/514763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=514762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=514762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=514762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}