Hey, if you need anymore reassurance that the Chicago Cubs won’t be trading Nico Hoerner, then this update is for you.
We have already discussed what I would before the end of the 2026 season and that would be to sign Hoerner to an extension. A five or six-year deal that keeps Hoerner with this current core of position players would be ideal, locking him up before he can test free agency following this upcoming season.
That being said, there’s no denying that Hoerner’s name will continue to come up in trade rumors as long as he remains a pending free agent. Those talks have now intensified after the Cubs signed Alex Bregman, but the noise is pretty much all media speculation rather than any actual reporting that the Cubs want to trade Hoerner.
All right, let’s get to the root of these latest trade rumors involving Hoerner and how they’ve been shut down after the initial media frenzy.
Jeff Passan Sparks Trade Rumors
On Saturday night, the Cubs signed Bregman and ESPN’s Jeff Passan wrote the following.
Chicago probably will consider trading either Gold Glove-winning second baseman Nico Hoerner or third baseman Matt Shaw to make room for Bregman. Hoerner is a free agent after this season, but Shaw probably would bring a larger return package because of his six years of club control. The Cubs also could keep both, in addition to Bregman.
So, with that one line fans around MLB went off the handle and immediately started coming up mock trade proposals.
By the way, all Passan said was the Cubs could consider the idea, but also they could simply keep both Matt Shaw and Hoerner, which is what makes fans think the team needs to trade away one of them with Bregman coming into the picture.
Just to be clear, the Cubs do not need to trade Hoerner or Shaw for that matter right now.
Anyway, the trade buzz got louder after a report out of New York said that the Yankees have reached out to the Cubs to discuss a Hoerner deal.
Here’s the thing, of course the Yankees want Nico Hoerner. Any team looking to upgrade their middle infield is going to want to trade for Hoerner, but that means absolutely nothing to the Cubs. You know why? The Cubs are a better team with Hoerner on it.
Cold Water on Nico Hoerner Trade Rumors
Yes, as The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma wrote on Monday, the Cubs will pick up the phone when teams call, but there is absolutely no pressure on the front office to suddenly unload one of their most-liked players, who has been a bargain for them, just because they improved a different part of the roster.
And hey, even though he was completely off base when it came to the Bregman talks this offseason, ESPN’s Jesse Rogers did say on Monday that he expects the Cubs to keep Hoerner, so there’s that too.
So Yankees fans, please stop wasting your time. Let’s cut the crap, it’s not happening.
