Confirmed deal Yankees Potential Trade Target: Nico Hoerner

The Yanees and Cubs have been locked in trade talks since the end of Winter Meetings, the two sides so far unable to agree on the amount of money that should change hands in a prospective Cody Bellinger swap. However, there is a teammate of Bellinger’s whom the Yankees should be pursuing with far greater fervor: second baseman Nico Hoerner.

 

 

The Yankees and Cubs have been locked in trade talks since the end of Winter Meetings, the two sides so far unable to agree on the amount of money that should change hands in a prospective Cody Bellinger swap. However, there is a teammate of Bellinger’s whom the Yankees should be pursuing with far greater fervor: second baseman Nico Hoerner.

 

Contract Status: Entering second year of three-year, $35 million extension signed on March 27, 2023, that covers 2024-2026 seasons. Set to earn $11.5 million in 2025 and $12 million in 2026.

Hoerner’s steady performances in the middle infield have made him one of the most underrated players in the league over the last three seasons. Taken by the Cubs with the 24th overall selection in the 2018 MLB Draft, Hoerner was the first player from his draft class to make his major league debut, getting the call-up on September 9, 2019 and appearing in 20 games at the end of that season. He floundered in the COVID-shortened 2020 season and appeared in just 44 games in 2021 while struggling with oblique injuries, but has since been the model of consistency. Here is where he ranks among qualified second basemen over the last three seasons: