The Chicago Cubs have a lot of good players, but something is missing from the formula.

Everywhere you look on the Cubs roster, there are substantial contributors. But few of those players could be mistaken for stars, and it leaves the Cubs as a slightly above-average team on the whole instead of a playoff contender.

Second baseman Nico Hoerner embodies that phenomenon perfectly. He’s a valuable big-league player, posting 15.1 career WAR through 548 games. But with 29 home runs and a .381 slugging percentage, he’s more of a table-setter than an impact contributor.

With top prospect Matt Shaw looking ready to become a starting second baseman at the big-league level, the Cubs could view Hoerner as expendable. That would enable them to take a chance on a young Seattle Mariners hurler who could develop into an ace.

Recently, Zach Pressnell of FanSided proposed a trade that would send Hoerner and pitching prospect Jack Neely to Seattle for 25-year-old starting pitcher Emerson Hancock.

“The Mariners have five All-Star-level starters above (Hancock) with more prospects coming behind him. Through 15 career starts, (he) 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,” Pressnell said.

“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.”

Hancock started 12 games for the Mariners this season as an injury fill-in, and that’s all he’s likely to be for Seattle again in 2025. He racked up 155 innings of work between Triple-A and the majors, so it’s clear he’s ready for a big-league workload.

If Hancock could develop into the top righty in the Chicago rotation, joining lefties Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele to form a dominant trio, it would undoubtedly be worth the pain of losing Hoerner, who has just two years of team control remaining compared to Hancock’s six.

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