Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner won a Gold Glove in 2023 in the midst of a 4.6 fWAR season. He also belted nine homers and scored 98 runs while being a touch better than league average at the dish. Hoerner followed that up with a similar season on both sides of the ball in 2024.
Yet, there is some concern entering Cubs camp this season, with Hoerner undergoing surgery on October 11 to address a flexor tendon injury in his right forearm. Despite the injury, his performance last season was still on par with where he has been the last few seasons statistically.
This week we received an update on the former Stanford star, who is already in camp. According to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com, his return timeline isn't quite known yet, and missing the start of the regular season is a possibility, given that the team will be traveling to Tokyo to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers on March 18-19.
He's also questionable for the domestic opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks on March 27.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell told Bastian, "I’m not focused, nor is Nico focused, on, ‘I’m ready for this game or that game.' He’s not going to miss much, if at all. That’s what I’d say. I’m confident in that. What Nico and I have talked about is stacking good days. Just keep on stacking good days, because when you look too far forward, you kind of forget about today."
"You stack a bunch of good days up, and that day’s going to be sooner than we all think. That’s what’s happened so far. The news has been all good so far."
The Chicago skipper also said that they still have their second baseman on a throwing and hitting count, limiting how much work he's putting in at this point in camp. "It’s not just, ‘Go hit today.’"
After dealing for star right fielder Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros earlier this offseason, the Cubs are looking to improve upon their 83-win campaign that saw them finish ten games back of Counsell's former team, the Milwaukee Brewers.
While Chicago's moves have certainly helped them towards that goal, the NL Central has also been making moves, particularly the Cincinnati Reds, who brought on Terry Francona to be their new manager. They also brought in Gavin Lux, who should provide a boost to the offense.
In order for the Cubs to win the Central, a nice rookie campaign from Matt Shaw would certainly go a long way, but they're going to need guys like Hoerner to be the glue that extends the lineup on a nightly basis.
The starting rotation is solid. The bullpen is deeper. It's going to be a matter of getting healthy, and staying that way that will determine what kind of a season the Cubs have in 2025.
