Nico Hoerner

Cubs Designate Eric Hosmer For Assignment

By Darragh McDonald | May 19, 2023 at 11:59pm CDT

The Cubs announced a series of roster moves today, with Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic among those to relay them on Twitter. Infielder Nico Hoerner has been activated off the injured list, Edwin Ríos was recalled from Iowa and outfielder Mike Tauchman has had his contract selected. In corresponding moves, Cody Bellinger has been placed on the 10-day injured list retroactive to May 16 with a left knee contusion, Keegan Thompson has been optioned to Iowa and first baseman Eric Hosmer has been designated for assignment.

Hosmer, 33, signed an eight-year, $144MM deal with the Padres going into the 2018 but then saw his production tail off once the ink on that deal was dry. He had a career batting line of .284/.342/.439 prior to that deal but has hit just .263/.323/.406 since then. That latter line amounts to a wRC+ of 98, indicating he’s been a couple of ticks below league average. Since first baseman are generally expected to produce more on the offensive side of things, that’s been an obviously disappointing performance.

He was frequently the subject of trade rumors during him time in San Diego and eventually was flipped to the Red Sox at least year’s deadline with the Padres eating almost all of the remaining money on his deal, with Boston on the hook for just the league minimum. Boston was then encouraged enough by the developments of first base prospect Triston Casas that they released Hosmer in the offseason.

The Cubs then agreed to bring Hosmer aboard, which was a move that had no financial risk since the Padres were still responsible for most of the $39MM remaining on the final three years of his contract. It was seen by many that Hosmer would be a sort of placeholder, hopefully playing at a serviceable level until some younger player such as Matt Mervis eventually forced their way into the major league plans. Mervis was called up a couple of weeks ago and is hitting just .220/.256/.317 so far but Hosmer isn’t doing much better, currently slashing .234/.280/.330 for a wRC+ of 67. It seems the Cubs will use Hosmer’s at-bats on other players and let him seek out his next opportunity.

Hosmer will inevitable be released in the coming days and return to the open market. He hasn’t been able to provide much value lately but he might still get interest based on his previous work and the fact that he’d be essentially free in terms of dollars. He also appears to be respected around the game for intangibles like his clubhouse presence and leadership, which could also appeal to certain clubs.

Turning to the other moves, Bellinger seemed to injure himself by colliding with the wall in Houston while making a catch on Monday. The club took a few days to see how his situation developed but has decided to let him rest for at least another week. He was non-tendered by the Dodgers after last season due to his struggles in both 2021 and 2022 but is in better form so far this year. After signing a one-year, $17.5MM deal with the Cubs this winter, he’s hitting .271/.337/.493 in addition to stealing nine bases and playing quality defense. Christopher Morel is in center field tonight and could perhaps stay there until Bellinger comes back.

Tauchman, 32, could also be in that mix, as he’s been playing all three outfield slots in Triple-A this year. He’s also walked in an incredible 20.4% of his plate appearances, leading to a .278/.427/.443 slash line and 129 wRC+. He has 257 games of major league experience under his belt, having played for the Rockies, Yankees and Giants from 2017 to 2021. His career batting line is currently .231/.326/.378 for a wRC+ of 90. He spent 2022 with the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization, hitting .289/.366/.430 in 144 games there.

Cubs Place Nico Hoerner On Injured List

By Anthony Franco | May 12, 2023 at 4:18pm CDT

The Cubs announced they’ve placed second baseman Nico Hoerner on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 9, due to a left hamstring strain. Utility player Miles Mastrobuoni was recalled from Triple-A Iowa to take his spot on the active roster. Chicago also reinstated reliever Brandon Hughes from the IL and optioned swingman Javier Assad to Iowa.

Hoerner has gotten off to a nice start to the year. After signing a three-year extension in Spring Training, the 25-year-old infielder has put together a .303/.348/.395 line over 164 plate appearances. He’s already stolen 12 bases in 14 attempts and has kept his strikeout rate to a customarily excellent 10.4% clip. The Stanford product has gotten typically strong reviews from public metrics for his defense at second base.

The Cubs have deployed Hoerner at the top of the lineup. Since he came up with the hamstring issue a few days ago, Nick Madrigal and Christopher Morel have gotten some looks at second base and in the leadoff spot. That’ll continue for at least the next week, with Mastrobuoni also again in the picture after hitting .291/.494/.455 over 18 games in Iowa.

Hughes, 27, figures to return to a high-leverage role out of the bullpen. The southpaw was excellent as a rookie last year, tossing 57 2/3 innings of 3.12 ERA ball with a strong 28.5% strikeout rate. He’d seen some time in the ninth inning by year’s end and picked up eight saves. He’s twice gone on the IL because of left knee inflammation thus far in 2023, though, limiting him to five MLB appearances.

Cubs Sign Nico Hoerner To Three-Year Extension

By Anthony Franco | March 30, 2023 at 1:20pm CDT

March 30: Jon Heyman of The New York Post provides the full breakdown. Hoerner will make $11.5MM in each of the first two seasons, then get a slight bump to $12MM in 2026.

March 29: The Cubs announced agreement with second baseman Nico Hoerner on a three-year contract extension covering the 2024-26 seasons. The deal reportedly guarantees the Apex Baseball client $35MM over that stretch. It buys out his final two seasons of arbitration eligibility and one free agent year.

Hoerner has emerged as one of the Cubs’ better players in recent years. A first-round pick out of Stanford in 2018, he made it to the majors within a year and a half of being drafted. That was a brief cameo and Hoerner struggled during the abbreviated 2020 campaign. Over the past two seasons, however, he’s taken a step forward at the dish to pair with his strong up-the-middle defensive profile.

The Oakland native lost a good chunk of the 2021 season to hamstring and oblique issues. When healthy, he posted a .302/.382/.369 line over 44 games that year. He followed up with his first full season, in which he hit .281/.327/.410 in 135 contests. Hoerner connected on 10 home runs and 22 doubles. More impressively, he kept his strikeout rate to a minuscule 11% while making contact on an above-average 86.6% of his swings. Going back to the start of the 2021 campaign, he’s a .286/.341/.400 hitter in a little under 700 trips to the dish.

It’s hardly elite offense but Hoerner has compensated for modest power with excellent contact skills. Putting the ball in play has allowed him to run a high batting average that props up the offensive profile. He’s also been a plus on the basepaths, stealing 20 bags in 22 attempts last year.

Hoerner has paired that decent hitting with strong work on the infield. He has played over 1400 major league innings at shortstop, drawing strong grades from Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast’s Outs Above Average. DRS has pegged Hoerner as 10 runs better than the average defender at the infield’s most demanding position. Statcast has credited him as 16 runs above par.

The Cubs are kicking Hoerner to the other side of the second base bag in 2023. Chicago added Dansby Swanson on a seven-year free agent deal this offseason. Hoerner seemed fully on board with the position change, agreeing to move to the keystone to enable the club to add a player of Swanson’s caliber. There’s little question he’ll be an excellent second baseman, where he’s also gotten elite grades from public metrics in 468 1/3 frames between 2019-21.

Hoerner has between three and four years of major league service time. He and the organization had agreed to a $2.525MM salary for the upcoming season. The three-year pact apparently takes effect in 2024, as the deal reportedly buys out his final two arbitration years and one free agent campaign. He’s now slated to first hit the open market over the 2026-27 offseason, at which point he’ll be entering his age-30 campaign.

It’s rare for players already into arbitration to sign extensions that buy out exactly one free agent year. Players like Miguel Sanó (three years, $30MM) and J.P. Crawford (four years, $46.15MM) have signed extensions in this vicinity in recent seasons. Crawford’s deal bought out two free agent years, however. Sanó’s contract came with a club option for a second would-be free agent year. Hoerner secures a shorter-term commitment that locks in his arbitration earnings and allows him to still hit the market at age 30.

The team, meanwhile, picks up one additional season of a player they obviously value highly. It’s a bit of a surprise to see them commit $35MM to pick up control of one free agent year. Had the sides gone annually through arbitration, Hoerner would have built off this year’s $2.525MM platform salary.

Assuming he’d have made around $12-15MM for his final two arbitration seasons, the Cubs are valuing the free agent year in the $20-23MM range. It’s possible that proves to be below market value by that point, though it’d probably require Hoerner taking another step forward with the bat. The Cubs seem confident he’ll do so, with this agreement signifying they view him as a key part of a core that can get them back to playoff contention.

Ken Rosenthal and Sahadev Sharma of the Athletic first reported the Cubs and Hoerner were in advanced extension talks. Jeff Passan of ESPN reported the deal had been agreed upon as well as the contract terms.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Cubs Notes: Thompson, Alzolay, Hendricks, Hoerner

By Mark Polishuk | February 18, 2023 at 6:44pm CDT

Keegan Thompson and Adbert Alzolay aren’t part of the competition to be the Cubs’ fifth starter, as manager David Ross told reporters (including Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune) that the two right-handers will be working out of the bullpen. Thompson has pitched as a reliever for 38 of his 61 career games in the majors, with significantly more success out of the pen — the righty has a 1.95 ERA over 73 2/3 bullpen innings, as opposed to a 4.94 ERA over 94 2/3 frames as a starter. Alzolay has started 27 of his 45 career games, but worked exclusively as a reliever in his limited action last year, as Alzolay missed most of 2022 recovering from a shoulder strain.

Thompson also missed close to a month last season due to lower back tightness, so health concerns might have also been some factor in the Cubs’ decision. However, the team might simply be more excited by the idea of what Thompson or Alzolay could deliver as relief pitchers, particularly since the rotation has been bolstered by the addition of Jameson Taillon and the re-signing of Drew Smyly. Chicago hasn’t spent much on the bullpen in recent years, preferring to add veterans on one-year deals (i.e. this winter’s signings of Michael Fulmer and Brad Boxberger) and seeing what is available in terms of in-house options. Of course, this doesn’t mean that Thompson or Alzolay couldn’t still get at least some usage as a starter in 2023, or that the door is closed on either righty as a potential starting candidate down the road.

Dylan Cease Tops Pre-Arbitration Bonus Pool

By Simon Hampton | December 10, 2022 at 10:15am CDT

One of the big new additions to the collective bargaining agreement signed between the league and the players was the implementation of a $50MM bonus pool set aside for players with less than three years of league service time.

The pool would be handed out to the top 100 eligible players, with MLB’s WAR metric determining which players made the list. Beyond that, further bonuses could be earned for qualified players if they ranked in the top two of Rookie of the Year, top five in MVP or Cy Young, as well as being named in the first or second All-MLB team.

According to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers, White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease topped the class in 2022, taking home a bonus of $2,457,426, in addition to his $750K base salary. Cease threw 184 innings of 2.20 ERA ball for Chicago this year, finishing 2nd in AL Cy Young voting. That finish earned him $1.75MM in addition to the $707,425 he earned for his WAR ranking. 2022 was Cease’s last pre-arbitration season, so he won’t be eligible for the bonus pool after the 2023 season.

The Astros’ Yordan Alvarez was the top hitter on the list, as he took home a $2,381,143 bonus. Alvarez torched pitching to the tune of a .306/.406/.613 line with 37 home runs, finishing third in AL MVP voting. He picked up $881,143 as the top ranked player via the WAR metric, and an additional $1.5MM for his MVP finish. He also won’t be eligible for the pool next season.

Here’s the top ten bonus pool earners (all of these figures are in addition to the player’s base salary):

Dylan Cease: $2,457,426
Yordan Alvarez: $2,381,143
Alek Manoah: $2,191,023
Zac Gallen: $1,670,875
Julio Rodriguez: $1,550,850
Michael Harris: $1,361,435
Emmanuel Clase: $1,354,962
Andres Gimenez: $1,308,805
Adley Rutschman: $1,177,555
Kyle Tucker: $1,146,555

Per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, Atlanta’s Spencer Strider was the only other player to earn a bonus greater than $1MM, while four more players (Sean Murphy, Tommy Edman, Will Smith and Ryan Helsley) earned more than $700K, with another eleven players (Steven Kwan, Bo Bichette, Alejandro Kirk, Nestor Cortes, Logan Webb, Shane McClanahan, Cal Raleigh, Daulton Varsho, Nico Hoerner, Triston McKenzie and Tony Gonsolin) earned a bonus greater than $500K.

Each player’s team will pay out the bonuses by December 23, but they will be reimbursed by the Commissioner’s Office.

Cubs Expecting To Add Starting Center Fielder; Active In Shortstop Market

By Simon Hampton | November 12, 2022 at 12:15pm CDT

It’s shaping up as a busy off-season for the Cubs as they look to push on with their rebuild and improve on their 74-88 record in 2022. According to remarks made by president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer to Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Cubs are expecting to add a starting center fielder, while Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports that the team has been one of the most active early on in the shortstop market.

“We have guys internally that will certainly play out there [in center],” Hoyer said, “but I think the lion’s share might come from external.”

Rafael Ortega and Christopher Morel had the bulk of the playing time in center this past season, but while both are under club control for next season, Hoyer’s comments make it pretty clear that neither are seen as their center fielder moving forward. Ortega hit .241/.331/.358 with seven home runs, while Morel posted a .235/.308/.433 line with 16 home runs in his rookie campaign. Morel bounced around the infield positions as well, but neither posted positive defensive marks for their work in center.

A number of the Cubs top prospects are outfielders, but they’re at varying stages of their development. Their top prospect, according to Fangraphs, Pete Crowe-Armstrong is at High-A while Kevin Alcantara (third) is at Single-A. Brennen Davis and Alexander Canario are their best outfield prospects at Triple-A, but both are injured and uncertain timelines.

“Certainly with [Alexander] Canario’s injury and Brennen [Davis’] setback, it made that just that much more obvious,” Hoyer said.

As far as center field options go in free agency, the options aren’t particularly plentiful. Aaron Judge is the biggest name available, but while he played a significant amount of center this season for the Yankees, it seems unlikely the Cubs would be prepared to make the sort of splash needed to land him. Brandon Nimmo’s blend of elite on-base skills, solid power, and adequate defense would make him a strong candidate, but even though he’ll be much cheaper than Judge, he’ll still likely command a deal north of $100MM and there’ll be plenty of suitors to drive his price up.

Two less high profile names to consider are Kevin Kiermaier and Cody Bellinger, and Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports reports that both are n the Cubs’ radar. Kiermaier, 33, is a free agent after the Rays declined his team option for 2023. While his previously elite defensive numbers have dropped off as he’s aged, he’s still a strong defender and would be a cheaper stopgap option until one of the Cubs’ prospects are ready. Bellinger could well become a free agent shortly if the Dodgers opt to non-tender him. He’s dropped off considerably since his 47-homer MVP year in 2019, posting a wRC+ of 47 and 83 the past two seasons, but is still a solid defender in center, and at 27, he’s young enough that a change of scenery might allow him to rediscover some of his offensive talent.

While a big splash in center doesn’t appear likely, it could come at shortstop where the team is active in the market for the top four options available – Trea Turner, Carlos Correa, Dansby Swanson and Xander Bogaerts. Wittenmyer’s report adds that the Cubs apparently “love” Correa, something that dates back to the 2012 draft when they were eyeing him up with the sixth pick before he went first overall to the Astros. The 28-year-old had a strong platform year with the Twins, where he signed on a short term deal after no adequate long term deals materialized last winter. He’ll look to cash in this winter though, and it’s certainly possible that his contract lands in the $300MM range over nine or ten years.

The Cubs used Nico Hoerner at shortstop this year to great effect. Hoerner was worth 11 Defensive Runs Saved and 13 Outs Above Average at the position, but he could easily slide over to second base in the event the Cubs do sign one of the aforementioned shortstops, and take over at shortstop again if a new signing begins to decline and needs to switch position.

Ultimately, it’s going to be a busy winter for the Cubs, and it won’t just stop at shortstop and center field. As Wittenmyer adds, the Cubs have explored upgrading at first base and have checked in with Josh Bell and Trey Mancini, while they’re also looking to beef up their rotation and showing interest in Koudai Senga and a reunion with lefty Drew Smyly. The Cubs payroll is currently projected at $126MM, according to RosterResource. That’s well short of the sort of spending they made during their championship years last decade, so as they begin to show progress in their rebuild, it’s not surprising to see them willing to flex their financial muscle again.

Jed Hoyer Discusses Cubs’ Upcoming Offseason

By Darragh McDonald | October 12, 2022 at 4:25pm CDT

After six straight winning seasons from 2015 to 2020, which included five postseason berths and a World Series title, the Cubs have entered a rebuild and finished below .500 the past two years. As the fans hope for better days ahead, club chairman Tom Ricketts released a statement as the team switches gears from the season to the offseason.

“We will be active in free agency and have the necessary resources available to substantially supplement our current roster,” Ricketts says, as relayed by Tim Stebbins of NBC Sports Chicago. “As [president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer] has demonstrated, we will be driven by intelligent decision-making as we build a roster that can win games in the postseason – year in and year out.”

The word “active” in that statement is likely attractive to some, though it’s worth pointing that it can mean many different things. The Cubs were certainly active in free agency last year, giving out 12 deals to players who were on the open market. However, Seiya Suzuki was a special case since he was 27 years old at the time and coming over from playing in Japan. Marcus Stroman got a substantial deal, but on a shorter-than-expected three-year term with an opt out after year two. Apart from that, the deals for veterans were all on the modest side, both in terms of dollars and years.

Hoyer talked about spending money “intelligently” last year and Rickets echoed that in his statement. Hoyer, too, doubled down on his own comments from a year ago. “I think last year we talked a lot about intelligent spending, and I think we’ll certainly look to do that again.”

The shape of that spending remains to be seen, but the club should have some money to work with. The club had an Opening Day payroll of $143MM this year, in the estimation of Cot’s Baseball Contracts, a far cry from their previous high of $203MM in 2019. For next year, their commitments are currently around $109MM without factoring in arbitration-eligible players, per Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. Looking at the arbitration projections from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, retaining the entire class would cost the Cubs around $25MM, though not all of those players will be tendered contracts.

Even if the club plans to roll out a similar payroll in 2023 as they did this year, they would have some room to work with, though it’s possible that number could go up. “If we get to a place where we ask for a significant amount of money to sign one player or several players, I have no doubt that we’ll have his blessing,” Hoyer said during a recent conference, per Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times. “And I have no doubt the resources will be there.”

It’s been previously reported that the Cubs have interest in pursuing this winter’s crop of marquee free agent shortstops, though it’s unclear how aggressive they will be in that pursuit. Dansby Swanson and Trea Turner are slated for free agency, with Xander Bogaerts and Carlos Correa widely expected to join them by opting out of their respective contracts. Each of those four will require a significant investment, of course, with all of them likely to earn nine-figure deals. The Cubs haven’t given out a contract of that size since the Yu Darvish deal back in 2018, when they were much more firmly in win-now mode. If they don’t shop in the expensive aisle, there’s a significant drop to the next-best available shortstops, with Jose Iglesias and Elvis Andrus highlighting the second tier.

Of course, it’s also possible that the club uses its resources on players already on the roster, locking them up for future seasons via extension. Two players who could be candidates are outfielder Ian Happ and infielder Nico Hoerner. When asked about whether the club has talked to those players about new contracts, Hoyer tells Lee that they have “taken the first steps.”

In the case of Happ, he has just a single year of team control remaining and is projected to earn a salary of about $10.6MM next season. Due to his approaching free agency, he was often mentioned in trade rumors this summer but ended up sticking with the Cubs beyond the deadline. 2022 was his sixth season in the big leagues, with Happ posting above-average offense in each of them. This year, his .271/.342/.440 batting line was 20% above league average, by measure of wRC+. His work in the outfield was also graded positively, leading to him producing 3.5 wins above replacement this year, in the eyes of FanGraphs. He just turned 28 and will therefore be heading into free agency shortly after his 29th birthday, meaning the Cubs would likely have to cut a decent check to get him to forgo that opportunity.

In Hoerner’s case, he’s just 25 and heading into his first arbitration season, projected to get a salary of $2.2MM next year. Given his extra control, it’s more likely that he will be playing for the next competitive Cubs team and could theoretically be a higher priority for the team. He had a very nice all-around season here in 2022, hitting 10 home runs and stealing 20 bases. He hit .281/.327/.410 for a wRC+ of 106 and also provided excellent shortstop defense, leading to a tally of 4.0 fWAR for the year.

Of course, if the Cubs succeed in convincing a free agent shortstop to join the club, they would have to figure out how to get that player into the lineup next to Hoerner. It seems the most likely path would be Hoerner moving over to second base, a position he has played before. Patrick Mooney of The Athletic relays that Hoyer doesn’t see a problem with moving Hoerner to the other side of the bag, especially with the new anti-shift rules that go into place next year. With less shifting, it’s possible teams will look to have an extra level of athleticism at the keystone to provide greater range, something that is less necessary with shifting.

“We have total confidence in Nico’s ability to play shortstop,” Hoyer says. “But, yes, the way the game is trending, athleticism in the middle infield will make a big difference.” It doesn’t seem like Hoerner would put up a fight if the club asked him to make the switch. “He actually gets mad when you talk about him, which is pretty amazing,” Hoyer said. “He wants to talk about the Cubs. He wants to talk about winning. He wants to talk about the culture. So it was pretty easy with him. As long as you’re talking about winning and what can make us great, Nico’s totally on board.”

There are still many directions the offseason can go for Chicago, and there are reasons to be slightly more optimistic than a year ago. Despite another losing season, the club finished strong, going 33-28 from the start of August until the end of the schedule. “We certainly want next season to look a lot more like our second half than our first half,” Hoyer says, per Lee. “And if it does, we do have a chance to be in the race and play meaningful games throughout the entire season. And, hopefully, that means competing in October.” How aggressive they are in bolstering their roster for next year will be determined in the months to come.

Cubs Select Esteban Quiroz; Designate Frank Schwindel, Sean Newcomb

By Darragh McDonald | September 17, 2022 at 12:20pm CDT

The Cubs are making a batch of roster moves prior to today’s game, per reporter Mark Gonzales. Right-hander Adbert Alzolay has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list while infielder Esteban Quiroz has had his contract selected. In corresponding moves, outfielder Seiya Suzuki was placed on the paternity list while left-hander Sean Newcomb and first baseman Frank Schwindel were designated for assignment.

Quiroz, 30, has taken an unusual path to the big leagues as he was playing in the Mexican League for years, not signing with an affiliated club until he was nearing his 26th birthday. He’s spent time in the minor league systems of the Red Sox, Padres and Rays, before coming to the Cubs as part of the Harold Ramirez trade in March. He’s only been healthy enough to get into 40 Triple-A games this season, hitting .212/.358/.322 in that time for a wRC+ of 89. However, he’s been much better since returning from the injured list at the start of August, hitting .299/.450/.442 in that time. He’s played second base and third base this year, though has also played some shortstop in previous season and some outfield work back in Mexico.

With the Cubs well out of contention and just over two weeks remaining on this year’s schedule, they can use those games to audition players for future roles on the team. Quiroz will jump into an infield mix that also includes Zach McKinstry, Christopher Morel, Patrick Wisdom, Alfonso Rivas, David Bote and Nico Hoerner, though Hoerner might not be a factor for a while. He’s missed time recently with an injury and an MRI just revealed a moderate right triceps strain, per Gonzales. “It was a little worse off than we thought,” manager David Ross told Gonzales.

Schwindel, 30, got a nice stretch of play last year after the Cubs traded away many of their regular at the deadline. He made the most of that opportunity, hitting 14 home runs in 64 games, slashing an incredible .326/.371/.591 for a 154 wRC+. He couldn’t keep the fairy tale alive this year, however, as he’s hit just .229/.277/.358 for a wRC+ of 76. With the trade deadline passed, he’ll be placed on waivers in the coming days to see if any other team believes there’s more magic left in Frank the Tank.

Newcomb, 29, once seemed like a rotation stalwart in Atlanta but has fallen on hard times recently. He was bumped to bullpen work and eventually designated for assignment earlier this year, getting traded to the Cubs. The change of scenery hasn’t helped much as Newcomb has a ghastly 8.78 ERA in 27 2/3 innings this year, walking 14.2% of batters faced in the process. This is the second time the Cubs have designated him this year, with the previous instance resulting in Newcomb clearing waivers and accepting an outright assignment. Based on his unfortunate results this year, he’ll likely pass through waivers unclaimed again. With minor league seasons winding down, it’s possible he could accept another outright and make a couple of appearances in the minors, though it’s also possible he just decides to get an early start on free agency.

NL Central Notes: Cardinals, Brewers, Cubs

By TC Zencka | August 27, 2022 at 8:35am CDT

The Cardinals are hopeful that Steven Matz will return from his stint on the injured list soon, but when he does, it will be as a reliever, per MLB.com’s John Denton (via Twitter). There simply isn’t time remaining in the season to build him back up as a starter. The switch is partly because of Matz, but also due to the expectation that Jack Flaherty will return to the rotation potentially next Wednesday or the following weekend, writes Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Not to mention, deadline acquisitions Jose Quintana and Jordan Montgomery have excelled in the rotation since their arrival. In the bullpen, Matz can provide manager Oliver Marmol with another weapon from the left side to augment current southpaws Genesis Cabrera and JoJo Romero. Elsewhere in the NL Central…

Deadline acquisition Trevor Rosenthal left his latest appearance in Triple-A with lat soreness, per MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy (via Twitter). Picking up Rosenthal was certainly a bit of a lottery ticket for the Brewers, given that Rosenthal hasn’t pitched since 2020. Rosenthal had begun to show shades of his former self, posting a 1.90 ERA over 23 2/3 innings with the Royals and Padres. The hits keep coming for Rosenthal, who suffered a hamstring strain before the lat injury, which all came while recovering from thoracic outlet surgery.
The Cubs will be looking to add power this offseason, writes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. That certainly tracks for a team with a middle infield consisting of Nico Hoerner and Nick Madrigal, both of whom boast contact-first profiles at the dish. Hoerner has stepped up this season, both on the field and from a leadership perspective, making himself a key part of the Cubs’ future. Madrigal has had a less memorable campaign, but he may yet establish himself as the second baseman of the future. The power will have to come from somewhere, however, especially with Willson Contreras slated for free agency. Contreras’ 20 home runs rank second on the team behind Patrick Wisdom’s 22, and the long-time catcher is the team leader in isolated power with a .222 ISO.

Cubs Notes: Hoerner, Payroll, Simmons, Madrigal

By Anthony Franco | May 27, 2022 at 10:48am CDT

After a 15-run loss at the hands of the Reds yesterday, the Cubs dropped into fourth place in the NL Central at 18-26. Chicago’s early performance hasn’t been too far off preseason expectations. After the Cubs watched much of their previous core depart, the 2022 season looked likely to be a transitional year.

Particularly as playoff contention becomes more far-fetched, it makes sense for the organization to use this year as an opportunity to evaluate potential members of the next competitive Cubs’ team. To that end, manager David Ross indicated this week that Nico Hoerner will be the primary shortstop throughout the season (link via Patrick Mooney of the Athletic). That’s in spite of the club’s offseason signing of Andrelton Simmons to a $4MM deal.

“Nico has proven that he can play big-league shortstop pretty consistently already in this season,” Ross said. “Let’s see what happens at the end of the year and assess there. It’s easy to say you can be a big-league shortstop long term, but you also have to do it. You have to prove it. … We’ll move them around a little bit, but Nico will be starting shortstop.”

It’s a sensible course for the organization, as the 25-year-old Hoerner is controllable for another three seasons via arbitration. A former first-round pick, the Stanford product has shown promise on both sides of the ball over the past couple years. Hoerner didn’t hit a single home run in 170 plate appearances last season, but he made contact at a plus rate and reached base at a strong .382 clip. He’s seen a dramatic dip in his walk and on-base numbers early in 2022, but he’s collected a trio of homers — his first since his 2019 rookie season. Hoerner owns a .292/.350/.392 slash line dating back to the start of the 2021 campaign.

Hoerner was a well-regarded prospect, but some evaluators questioned whether he’d eventually need to slide over to second base. He’s split his MLB time nearly evenly between the middle infield spots (with additional cameos at third base and in the outfield), and public defensive metrics have loved his work at both positions. Hoerner has never had a full season’s worth of reps of at shortstop, however, and the likely non-competitive 2022 campaign affords the Cubs an opportunity to give him that challenge.

The team’s evaluation is particularly meaningful when one considers the upcoming free agent class. Chicago elected not to make a major splash at shortstop last time, watching as Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, old friend Javier Báez and Trevor Story signed elsewhere. The Cubs, meanwhile, took lower-cost shots on Simmons and Jonathan Villar while turning things over to their internal options.

Next winter’s shortstop class may not be quite as strong, but there’ll be a handful of high-end players yet again. Correa can opt out of his deal with the Twins, while Xander Bogaerts is a near-lock to do the same on his contract with the Red Sox. Trea Turner will hit free agency for the first time, as will Dansby Swanson. The Cubs could be a viable suitor for any of that group, particularly if they’re willing to push payroll upwards to reopen a contention window.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post suggests the organization could do just that, writing that they’re “expected to spend again next winter.” That’s not to say the Cubs sat out this past offseason. They signed a staggering 12 players to big league free agent deals, but only Seiya Suzuki and Marcus Stroman commanded especially notable long-term investments. The bulk of the team’s moves were shorter, lower-risk additions on the margins of the roster.

The team’s long-term spending outlook leaves open the possibility for a more aggressive run at top-of-the-market talents a few months from now. According to Jason Martinez of Roster Resource, the Cubs have around $94MM in guaranteed commitments on the books for 2023. Ian Happ will be in line for a fairly significant arbitration salary — assuming he’s not traded this summer — but the team should otherwise have a fairly light class. That’d leave some room for additions even before reaching the approximate $145MM Opening Day player payrolls of the past two seasons, and the organization has spent north of $200MM on their rosters in the past.

Whether the Cubs dive into the top of the shortstop market could be determined by how Hoerner performs over the coming months. In the nearer term, Hoarder’s regular playing time means Simmons is set to take on an unfamiliar utility role. The 32-year-old has never played a big league inning outside of shortstop (aside from yesterday’s mop-up pitching performance), but Ross indicated he’s likely to see time at second base moving forward.

Simmons is generally regarded as the best defensive shortstop of his generation, and there’s little doubt he can handle second base with similar excellence. Yet he’s coming off a dismal offensive season with the Twins, and there probably won’t be room for him in the regular infield when the Cubs are at full strength. Patrick Wisdom is the primary third baseman, while Nick Madrigal is likely to play regularly at the keystone when he returns from the injured list.

Madrigal has been out for a couple weeks with a lower back issue, but the team announced that he’ll report to Triple-A Iowa for a rehab assignment this weekend (h/t to Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times). Acquired from the White Sox in last summer’s Craig Kimbrel swap, Madrigal has hit just .203/.250/.241 through his first 23 games with his new club. Nevertheless, the contact-oriented infielder is controllable through 2026 and a potential core piece, so he’ll surely be in the everyday lineup once healthy.

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