The Chicago Cubs are looking to turn their franchise in a new direction. This turnaround began last offseason when the Cubs stole Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell away from them by offering him a contract he couldn’t decline. After a disappointing year in 2024, the Cubs now have the offseason to rebuild their roster without destroying the core of players that has made them competitive to this point.

One of the players they’ve considered trading is their starting infielder Nico Hoerner. Hoerner is playing the same spot in the infield that Cubs top prospect, Matt Shaw, would play, effectively blocking the talented top prospect in Triple-A. Trading Hoerner would open the lane for Shaw to take over in 2025.

A perfect spot to send him is out west to the Seattle Mariners, who need offensive help more than anybody in the league. And these two teams would match perfectly because the Mariners could send an MLB-ready pitcher to the Cubs in a rather simple trade.

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Here’s how a trade could look to send Hoerner to the Mariners:

The pitcher coming back to Chicago in this deal is the high potential 25-year-old, Emerson Hancock.

Hancock hasn’t found his footing in the big leagues just yet and it’s going to be nearly impossible for him to do so in Seattle. The Mariners have five All-Star-level starters above him with more prospects coming behind him. Through 15 career starts, Hancock has a 4.71 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. He pounds the strike zone and likely just needs an opportunity to find his footing in the big leagues.

Heading to the Mariners in this trade is the aforementioned Hoerner and a pitching prospect, Jack Neely. The deal isn’t likely to go through in a one-for-one trade, much like the recent Jonathan India for Brady Singer deal.

Hoerner would fill a huge hole in the offense without tapping into free agency. This would allow the Mariners to pursue a huge free agent target like Pete Alonso in free agency.

Neely is a 6-foot-8 right-handed reliever who’s shown serious promise in his pro career. If he lands with the Mariners and their pitching development team, he could be a true bullpen star.