Could Nico Hoerner become an option for the M's?
So far, much of the Seattle Mariners offseason trade chatter has centered around the idea of the M's acquiring versatile infielder Brendan Donovan from the St. Louis Cardinals.
However, it's possible that the Mariners could end up matching up with another National League Central team in a trade - the Chicago Cubs.
According to recent reports, the Cubs are interested in both Alex Bregman and Bo Bichette on the free agent market. If they were to land one of them, that would open up the possibility of moving Nico Hoerner, who is in the final year of his contract.
Per The Athletic on Wednesday morning:
Adding either player would create the potential for the Cubs to trade second baseman Nico Hoerner and move Matt Shaw from third to second. The Cubs also could keep Hoerner and make Shaw a superutility player, an alignment that would give them a better chance to win unless they dealt Hoerner for a quality starting pitcher.
About Hoerner
Now 28 years old, Hoerner is a seven-year veteran of the Cubs. A career .282 hitter, he's the kind of bat-to-ball hitter that the Mariners crave, though he doesn't come with much power. He has just 36 home runs in seven seasons, and his career-high is only 10. He's coming off a season in which he hit .297 with seven home runs and 61 RBIs. He also runs well, as evidenced by his 29 stolen bases. He's won two Gold Gloves in the last three seasons. He plays primarily second base but does have shortstop experience. He started 133 games there in 2022.
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How could he fit with the Mariners?
Purely speculating, he would figure to spend much of his time at second base, though he could also fill in for J.P. Crawford at shortstop, and maybe he could play some third base as well. He only has eight games of major league experience there, though.
His contact-ability would be welcome for a Mariners' lineup that strikes out too much, and his defense would be welcome for a pitching staff that gets a lot of ground balls.
However, there are questions about the impact on the rest of the lineup. For instance, if Hoerner plays second base, then what happens to Cole Young? Is he in Triple-A again? Is he the designated hitter? And if that happens, what happens to Dominic Canzone, Victor Robles and Luke Raley?
Hoerner is slated to make $12 million in 2026 and while the Mariners can afford that, they aren't taking on that salary just to make Hoerner a part-time player. If he's here, he'll play.
Because of the additional flexibility to play in the outfield, it still seems like Donovan is the better addition, if the price is right.
What about the return?
The Athletic indicates that Hoerner could be moved for a pitcher, but that seems more speculative. If the Cubs do want a pitcher though, the M's could have a tough time filling that end of the deal. The Mariners won't move any of their five starters for a contact-hitting rental infielder, and it's unclear if Logan Evans or Emerson Hancock are enough to move the needle for Chicago.
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