Nico Hoerner is Not Easily Replaced

With the latest Alex Bregman/Cubs rumor, there’s been some proposing the idea of signing Bregman and trading Nico Hoerner, allowing Matt Shaw to play his natural position at second base.

Due to the Cubs’ positional depth at 2B and the number of defense-first players on the roster, I think Hoerner has become underrated by Cubs fans.

Among all players across the last two seasons, Hoerner is:

• 36th in games played (after being banged up a bit in years past)
• 8th in stolen bases and baserunning runs
• 13th in Outs Above Average
• 25th in fWAR, between Bryce Harper, Alex Bregman, Matt Chapman, and Adley Rutschman.

That’s comparing Hoerner to all players, though. Among players with 600+ PA in the last 2 seasons at second base, Hoerner ranks:

• 10th in wRC+
• 4th in fWAR
• 2nd (lowest) in K%

And during a time in which the Cubs were struggling to draft well, Hoerner has the most rWAR by any player taken in the first round of the 2018 draft.

You can argue that the team needs more offense, but in terms of a complete player it would be hard to replace Nico Hoerner’s overall production at a better rate. He’s been one of the best second basemen in baseball over the past two seasons and one of the best 30 players. We should enjoy watching him play.