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With Opening Day coming up I was about to light up Jed Hoyer and the Cubs for letting another offseason go by and not get a contract extension done with Nico Hoerner. Well, how about this lovely surprise Monday night, as the Cubs and Hoerner have agreed to a three-year extension worth $35 million.
Earlier in the offseason, Hoerner and the Cubs avoided arbitration and agreed to his 2023 salary which will be $2.525 million.
So, the Cubs have locked up their starting second baseman through the 2026 season.
This really is a huge move for the Cubs and I know shortstop Dansby Swanson is the guy who signed the big free agent deal, but it’s Nico Hoerner who really is the Cub who other players in the organization look up to.
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Just take a look at what the team’s top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong said about Hoerner back in February.
Hoerner was taken with the 24th overall pick of the 2018 draft out of Stanford and the following September he got his first call up to the big leagues after only playing in 89 total minor league games. And who could ever forget Hoerner’s debut against the San Diego Padres, going 3-for-4, with 4 RBI, 2 runs scored and a triple.
What an awesome scene for Hoerner, who not only had a great game, but had a road ballpark taken over with chants of his name.
A constant professional who has always made steps to get better year after year. This is a great day for Cubs fans. The only negative is that the extension is only three years long, but you have to imagine that Hoerner wanted the ability to still test out free agency before hitting 30-years-old.
In 2022, Hoerner posted a 4.0 fWAR, ending the season as one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball. While Hoerner’s offense was slow to catch up to the rest of his game, the right-handed hitter has improved every year and since the start of 2021 he’s slashed .286/.341/.400, with a 106 wRC+ in 179 games.
He’s a good base runner, great defensively and is still getting better at the plate. I cannot stress this enough, this was a huge deal for the Cubs to make sure that Nico Hoerner will be the starting second baseman at least through the 2026 season.
Now that’s how you cap off an offseason and get everyone feeling good on Opening Day.
