Chicago Cubs: Second base gig Nico Hoerner’s to lose?
By Ryan Sikes
Nico Hoerner was excellent in a small sample with the Chicago Cubs in 2019. Is the second base job for next season his to lose?
Nico Hoerner was not expected to make his big league debut this season. But when Addison Russell took a pitch to the face in early September and with Javier Baez already on the injured list due to a fractured thumb, the Chicago Cubs top prospect got the call. In 20 games, Hoerner slashed a respectable 0.282/0.305/0.436 and a 0.292 BABIP, which is right in line with the league average of 0.300.
He notched 1 double, 1 triple, 3 home runs, and 17 RBI in those 20 games and that projects really well over the course of a full season. Obviously, Hoerner is going to struggle at some point so a linear projection would not be accurate. The course of a baseball season is full of highs and lows but I am getting off track now.
The second base position is a huge need this offseason. I would expect the Cubs to kick the tires on a few free agents and/or targets via trade but should they? Prior to the callup of Hoerner, the team had a revolving door at the position including Daniel Descalso, David Bote, Ben Zobrist, Robel Garcia, Tony Kemp, Ian Happ, and the aforementioned Russell. Despite the controversy surrounding him, Russell saw the most time at the position but never materialized into the player the Cubs hoped he’d be after the 2016 season.
Descalso may go down as one of the worst free agents in franchise history and the team should consider cutting ties with him this offseason. That leaves a whole slew of players to be considered for the position but the future was always going to be Nico Hoerner. Why not proceed with that heading into 2020?
Hoerner is a bat that the Cubs lineup desperately needs in what was largely a home run or nothing offense the last two seasons. Certainly, those power bats are nice but contact hitters are needed as well to keep the line moving, which the team lacks right now. The Astros are a great example of a perfectly constructed lineup and I liken Nico Hoerner’s skillset to Jose Altuve in some aspects. I don’t believe that he’s capable of producing regular 20+ home run seasons nor do I think he needs to.
Next. David Bote would greatly benefit from Espada hiring. dark
If Hoerner lands the starting base gig out of Spring Training, it will be interesting to see where the Cubs’ new manager plans to hit him in the lineup. Again, they are extremely small sample sizes, but Hoerner slashed an unimpressive 0.236/.263/0.364 from the 8th spot in 14 games but did much better in the 2nd spot. We’ll see.