Nico Hoerner earned a Gold Glove nomination after notching five Defensive Runs Saved in just over 200 innings at the keystone in 2020, but his versatility will make him more than a bit player for the Cubs moving forward. Thanks to his plus glovework, the 23-year-old was worth 0.7 bWAR in 2020 despite slashing .222/.312/.259. His defensive prowess will keep his name on the lineup card while his bat works to catch up, writes Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times. Hoerner played five positions including centerfield – the Cubs’ most glaring long-and-short-term hole. Ian Happ was the bulk starter in center in 2020, but he could move to left now that Kyle Schwarber was non-tendered. The Cubs are likely to add at least another name to their outfield mix, but don’t be surprised to see Hoerner continue to get looks there in the spring while competing with David Bote for regular second base reps.
As we look forward to the new year, let’s see what else is happening around the sport…
- With two COVID-19 vaccines now on the market, owners are considering a push to delay the season opener until May. In their minds, a significant enough number in vaccinations could justify the delay, writes Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com. Players have thus far resisted any attempts to push back the start of the season, however. The MLBPA wants a 162-game season rather than face another year of prorated pay. With coronavirus cases still on the rise, however, it’s prudent for MLB to take whatever precautions necessary to limit the risk of breakouts in 2021.
- MLB.com’s Director of Research and Development Daren Willman put together a fun chart to peruse this holiday season (via Twitter). Williams posted the current home run leaders by birth state, and there are definitely some places for a young go-getter to take their local crown. Maine, Alaska, and New Hampshire each have career leaders with less than 100 home runs, while Duke Sims landed exactly at the century mark to leader all Utahans. Paul Goldschmidt (Delaware), Bryce Harper (Nevada), Kurt Suzuki (Hawaii), Mike Trout (New Jersey), and Ryan Zimmerman (North Carolina) could add to their leads in 2021, while the recently-retired Alex Gordon ended his career as Nebraska’s all-time home run king. Executive Director of the MLBPA Tony Clark also makes the list as Kansas’ all-time leader.
Ian Happ is overrated and the Cubs need to sell high on him. They have a team full of high strikeout guys that have pop. Letting Schwarber go was a start, but I’ll take Schwarber’s potential over Happ’s, albeit that neither might turn out to be much more than they are already. Honestly, just tear this team down, let the bad contracts expire, and let’s try it all over again in 2023 and beyond, but not get so attached to homegrown players this time around. The Phillies did it with Howard, Utley, Rollins, etc and the Giants are living it now with Posey, Belt, Crawford etc… it’s better to sell a year early rather than a year late.
You have Harper listed as New Mexico when he’s from Nevada
It’s all Mexico really, lol
Knock off the racism.
@antone – your comment is the only racist one here, walk it back champ
You apparently know nothing about Mexican history. I’d advise that you step off.
Uh oh, mister tough guy advises us to step off. We’re afraid, so afraid.
I thought he was pointing out that it all came from Mexico…like they were both lands ceded in the treaty of Gudalupe. It’s quite funny how the people who see racism everywhere are always the ones telling others to stop being racist. It’s almost like they’re projecting…
I’m a historian of Mexico. I was referring to the pre-1848 border.
Yeah, never mind the native indigenous peoples who populated that area for thousands of years.
Bryce Harper is Nevada, not New Mexico
He was born in Vegas. So it could be Paris, or Monte Carlo, or Italy.
it’s Vegas, so you never know.
This comment deserves applause lol
I wonder who the real leaders are in California, NY and Florida since the names listed are cheaters. (Bonds, ARoid, and Sheffield)
“Cheaters” is broad and vague especially since the majority of pre 2000s guys were on roids, yet everyone will stick up for the guys they deem as “clean” when the reality is that the names you mentioned are the ones who happened to get caught.
Greenies are speed but apparently that’s not cheating to the espn-spoonfed crowd.
In my view, greenies don’t add 25 feet (or whatever) to every fly ball you hit. That’s the difference. Just my opinion.
Greenies make you not tired.
retire21: How about corked bats, vaseline, spit, files, sandpaper among other ways to “doctor” the baseball? Do you disregard the stats of players accused or caught using those “foreign substances”?
Did PEDs add 25 ft to every flyball hit?
It’s about recovery time through a long season of MLB, not hitting the ball farther.
I thought this was common knowledge.
Of course, more muscle mass may enable more power, but one still has to make contact.
Hence, why PEDs in baseball is about recovery time, not the more tenuous connection you’re making to support your contrasting point about greenies.
paddyo875, excuse me for not having the common knowledge. Are you telling me that a substance that builds muscle would not therefore cause the user who strikes something, to send that thing farther?!
For example, reportedly Bonds was envious of the McGwire/Sosa HR race, not their abilities to recover from injury.
Cheaters is only a “vague” phrase to those morally challenged.
They cheated, they stole from players, team owners, teams and fans.
I have a lot of empathy for the young guy trying to make a team Or even Bonds who cheated because he was being eclipsed by inferior players. But the fact is, and it’s a fact, they cheated.
There is not ambiguity.
Pete Rose is the only true cheater, if you list those other names without leading with Bud Selig out front of them, then that’s a massively clown-level take, bro.
It is Selig who was cheating from roids, not Bonds or Clemens.
If you believe that rose played to lose as a player you really didn’t see rose play.
As a manager even if he never bet on reds to lose he still contributed to losing since he’d hold out players in games with no action.
I think he should be in as a player but still banned from any involvement with mlb.
I always ask what would have been done if frank robinson were caught doing same long after he was put into hall.
I don’t believe they’d boot him.
Now this isn’t meant to imply anything against robinson. Just needed a manager who was a great player worthy of the hall of fame election.
Would it matter to rose if this were found out in 92.
I also agree that it’s a joke that selig is in hall but the best players from his time are all tainted even with minimal proof. Selig knew what was going on but looked away. The writers who elect also knew but looked away.
We fans also likely had a idea but kept watching. You can’t enjoy it one moment then cry foul the next. Honestly I think I rather have that game then the three true outcomes ball we have today.
Im sorry Selig what? now *that’s* a clown level take.
Betting on your team to win isn’t cheating. Every take you have is laughably awful.
We don’t know what he bet on – because Pete Rose accepted a life ban in exchange for the investigation into him stopping. Considering at that point we already knew he was betting, but he still chose to take a ban to stop more information coming out.. do you think he had nothing to hide?
The Pete Rose debate is done. He chose to take the ban – deal with it.
Pete Rose was/is a pedophile. He admitted to have sexual relations with a girl under 16 and was also accused that he had his memorabilia dealer bring him girls 12-14 years old.
I cannot believe people still want this guy in the Hall of Fame.
If Pete was a drug addict, or a drunk, he’d be in the Hall. Unfortunately, he was addicted to gambling, an addiction many people cannot wrap their heads around as easily. Between his competitive drive, and the addiction, it was an imperfect storm, of sorts. I was never a Reds fan, or a Rose fan, and I agree with everyone who says he’s a boorish doofus who has brought this on himself, but he was a Hall of Fame player, in my opinion, albeit a very flawed one.
Mark McGwire for California–no, that doesn’t work either, let’s go down to Ted Williams. Lou Gehrig for New York. Fred McGriff I think for Florida.
Bold take: I think that the owners are wanting to push the season till May to try and see what a 120 game-ish season would feel like instead of the 162 game season. Not because of Covid, but instead to try and see if they could make fans like shorter seasons. I think that they know they could navigate Covid in a normal 162 game season pretty easily in 21′, but it’s an excuse to try and make fans like the shorter seasons.
Is Alex Jones your daddy?
I could take a shorter season, but not that short. A return to 148, maybe.
Return?
Why would they want to leave money on the table.
Right – under most circumstances, the owners will want a longer season because that would make more money. Unless I’m missing something here…
The owners are not looking for excuses to permanently reduce their revenue by 25%. That’s not how they became billionaires.
Start the season in May, play 130 games, pay the players their full salaries owed by contract. Give the owners expanded playoffs again for 2021 to offset early season loss of revenue. When owners talk about losses, they’re simply referring to less profits for the year. The owners don’t share excess profits in the good years, so the players should give none of their pay back in off years.
Start season April 1, play with no fans until June 1, play with 50% capacity stadiums until postseason, then open them up in full.
Is it easy for you to spend other people’s money?
Exactly. You hit the nail on the head.
“When owners talk about losses, they’re simply referring to less profits for the year” – do you have sources to back up your claim on this one?
There is an easy compromise- don’t fully reduce the salaries on a pro-rated basis for a later start. So, if cutting down to a 120 game season (roughly 75%), reduce salaries by something like 15%- owners still do ok since they will likely make a disproportional amount if their revenue later in the season.
If there’s going to be vaccinations, just play with no fans until summer? Delaying the start seems like another money grab from owners, even when their future profits are guaranteed.
I am always happy to point out the owners’ greed, but in this case I don’t think anyone can bank on having a certain number of fans allowed in the stands at any given point of the 2021 season. I’ve heard a range of predictions as to when we will be able to resume “normal” activities, and full stadiums is usually one of the last things in that timeline.
With vaccinations, of course, there will probably be a nationwide version of something like what we saw in Texas in the CS & WS with limited attendance. It seems just as reasonable though to predict that we won’t have full stadiums till late 2021. Of course, we don’t know for sure, but in planning for the 2021 season, it’s very difficult to say with certainty when or even if fans will be filling stadiums – which makes the owners a bit less villainous this year, I think.
Home Run leaders by state???? Just what MLB needs, another silly stat.
IMHO, the delay in some obvious compromises needed between MLB and the MLBPA is an attempt to fold a new CBA into a 2021 agreement. Want full pay for a partial schedule? Universal DH? Expansion (even if it’s 2 years down the road)? Sure, owners will give all those things. Now call off the dogs and sign a new CBA.
Nothing diminishes franchise value like the threat of a labor stoppage. So negotiate all those things mentioned (and whatever else is on the table) And franchise value is an optimum consideration. The article mentions the Indians might be for sale at some point; so might a few others I can think of. With labor certainty guaranteed, owners will get a lot more for their teams.
Re: expansion, the new normal is to give investors 2 years to get their infrastructure set up, participating in the draft and International market during that process,.
silly stat? isnt it fairly cut and dry?
TC,
Can you change from ‘Williams’ to ‘Willman’ in this sentence? Thank you!
“‘Williams’ posted the current home run leaders by birth state, and there are definitely some places for a young go-getter to take their local crown”
Owners are clowns who want to delay the season as long as possible. They don’t care about vaccines. Just want to waste as much time as possible to implement another 60 game season…where they will lose the least amount of money.
the Cubs are going to ruin Hoerner by moving him around like the Phillies have done with Kingery.
Few can master fielding multiple positions while being a semi-productive or consistent bat. It never seems to work out for guys who are top of the line prospects. They should just let him stay at 2B and move Bote to the outfield. Bote wasn’t the Gold Glove finalist at 2B.
If the MLBPA asked for a reduction in playoff games due to a reduction in regular season games MLB will shut up about a reduced schedule.
Another prorated season coming.
Bryce Harper is from Nevada, not New Mexico…
Hoerner will almost certainly start in AAA to work on his hitting. Still, solid player and will help Cubs with contact rate.
As the likely replacement for Baez at SS in ’22 you are right, he should start next season at AAA and work on his offense.
The Cubs should bring Kipnis back, or sign Joe Panik and let them platoon with David Bote at 2B
I think the Cubs should go after Wong, he is a perfect fit for a Cubs team that needs a bat on ball hitter in the line up. I could not stand to see Wong come up against the Cubs while he was in St. Louis, even if he didn’t get a hit, he worked the pitch count up.
Owners better be prepared for a strike if they push to delay the season.
Owners are probably prepping for that anyway. CBA expires next winter and Manfred and Clark don’t have half of a brain between them. Its going to be an ugly winter next year watching those two try to negotiate
The union would get a thank you card from ownership. Striking to protest not being allowed to start the season is essentially volunteering agreement. “We refuse to play until you tell us we can start playing!”
Granted there could be a strike at the end of the season if stadiums are full by then.
A way to play more games with a delayed start would be to move the postseason to neutral warm weather sites again. Anybody wealthy enough to afford postseason tickets is likely also wealthy enough to afford airfare and hotel, so they could probably sell out the parks.
It’ll irritate fans of southern/domed teams, but I think it’s probably the best option.
What is a bit player, I’m not familiar with that term?
“will make him more than a bit player “
Unimportant, replaceable depth player.
More often associated with acting, a “bit” part is a small role.
The cubs have a few years but the cubs need to extend Happ. He’s severely underrated. Almora is underrated as a defensive player
I don’t think the Cubs should worry about extending anyone this season….
Reason being, the 2021-2022 free agent class is loaded! Especially at short stop. The Cubs, if TR allows the Cubs to spend, still have to reset the luxury tax. They have a lot of room to do so (roughly 65 million) but every penny counts when you are trying to work with a budget while fielding a playoff caliber team.
My personal opinion is that the Cubs should target Brantley and Wong on offense and Tanaka for the rotation and then take a flyer. Fill the bullpen with cheaper alternatives to stay below the LT and keep a slush fund available for mid-season additions.
If the Cubs didn’t think they were going to bring most of the guys back, I would strongly consider Springer and build around Springer, Happ, Contreras and Hoerner,
The only player that deserves to be extended at this point is Baez. Give hime a nice contract, then move him to 2B to keep him healthy and turning those beautiful double-plays. Let Bryant walk, then sign Lindor in free agency. There’s your core to build around for the next decade.
I’ll argue that Contreras is the only player worthy of an extension on the roster.
Baez and Rizzo are the priorities to extend.
@drasco Contreras can be extended next winter. For now the focus has to be on baez and rizzo.
I don’t think Baez or Rizzo is a priority to extend.
The only reason I would want to extend a player is to keep their AAV down and get a team friendly deal. It’s better now to keep good relations with guys you want to bring back and work on a free agent contract in the off season. Right now, if you extend either the risk vs. reward weighs heavily in the players favor.
Also, in Baez’s case, there are so many very good free agent short stops available next year it makes zero sense to extend him to a fair market deal. Lindor, Baez, Correa and Story are all Gold Glove caliber defenders at short with plus offense and Seager is a very solid option as well.
Rizzo you handle similar to Abreu and saddle him with a QO and then workout a deal to bring him back.
I’m not saying the Cubs should let Baez or Rizzo walk but not extending is a strategic decision.
The Cubs could do a mini-rebuild and still compete in the now watered down NL Central. Reds seem intent on moving a number of solid players despite them being pegged as a possible Cinderella team in 2020. Brewers never have more than one reliable SP at a time, and if they trade Josh Hader, the bullpen takes an enormous hit. Despite always being in contention, the Cardinals need outfielders and a replacement for Molina whom they don’t seem all that interested in re-signing. The Pirates? Sorry Buc fans, no words can describe the debacle they’ll be in 2021 no matter how many games MLB schedule.
The Cubs have the cheese to improve this team, and Cub fans ought to insist they do so. They can start by signing George Springer to play CF everyday and by adding any one of a number of decent starting pitchers on the market.
You’re right. That organization has been in complete 100% business mode since game 7 of the ‘16. They’ve avoided adding a dime in payroll (despite RECORD revenues) and every single move they’ve made since then has made them worse. Any other major market fanbase would be downright hostile, but the Cubs enjoy a sycophantic fanbase so there’s no accountability.
Is that a fact you just made up?
2016- 181 million
2017- 186 million
2018- 198 million
2019- 220 million
2020- 190 million
Also, again, you used a word incorrectly. Please use vocabulary that you understand.