The Yankees and Cubs have been locked in trade talks since the end of Winter Meetings, the two sides so far unable to agree on the amount of money that should change hands in a prospective Cody Bellinger swap. However, there is a teammate of Bellinger’s whom the Yankees should be pursuing with far greater fervor: second baseman Nico Hoerner.

2024 Statistics: 151 games, 641 PA, .273/.335/.373, 7 HR, 48 RBI, 31 SB, 103 wRC+, +10 Outs Above Average, 3.9 fWAR

2025 FanGraphs Depth Charts Projections: 138 games, 595 PA, .277/.337/.385, 8 HR, 58 RBI, 28 SB, 106 wRC+, 3.1 fWAR

Contract Status: Entering second year of three-year, $35 million extension signed on March 27, 2023, that covers 2024-2026 seasons. Set to earn $11.5 million in 2025 and $12 million in 2026.

Hoerner’s steady performances in the middle infield have made him one of the most underrated players in the league over the last three seasons. Taken by the Cubs with the 24th overall selection in the 2018 MLB Draft, Hoerner was the first player from his draft class to make his major league debut, getting the call-up on September 9, 2019 and appearing in 20 games at the end of that season. He floundered in the COVID-shortened 2020 season and appeared in just 44 games in 2021 while struggling with oblique injuries, but has since been the model of consistency. Here is where he ranks among qualified second basemen over the last three seasons:

It’s not just among his second base peers that Hoerner shines. Particularly when it comes to bat control, speed, and defense, Hoerner is among the league’s best. Check out his 2024 percentile rankings among all qualified hitters in MLB:

Hoerner finished with the third-lowest strikeout rate and whiff rate among all qualified hitters in 2024. Not only does his elite bat-to-ball skills allow him to avoid strikeouts and whiffs, but he makes the most out of his contact, with almost a third of his batted ball events producing an exit velocity that is at least 80-percent of the maximum attainable exit velocity given the speed of the bat head.

He’s been one of the more durable second baseman over the last three seasons, appearing in the 6th-most games of his positional peers. However, Hoerner did undergo right flexor tendon surgery after the conclusion of the regular season with the Cubs planning to evaluate a timetable for his recovery once teams reconvene in February. The Yankees are no strangers to major elbow procedures for their middle infielders, Gleyber Torres and Didi Gregorius each undergoing Tommy John surgery between 2017 and 2019, so Hoerner’s rehab process will be one to keep an eye on.

Of course, the biggest caveat to this entire discussion centers on whether the Cubs will make Hoerner available. They are actively shopping Bellinger and his $27.5 million salary for 2025, but he and Hoerner are separate cases. What’s more, the blockbuster trade to acquire Kyle Tucker appears to signal that the Cubs are trying to win in 2025, and trading away one of their most consistently valuable position players doesn’t align with that goal.

Reporting on Hoerner’s availability has been mixed. It was thought that the Cubs were making him available and had opened preliminary talks with the Mariners. But then Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic poured cold water on that rumor, alleging that the Cubs’ plan is to now hold on to Hoerner in the wake of the Tucker trade.

Returning to the differences between Hoerner’s and Bellinger’s trade cases, Hoerner is eminently more affordable and is under contract for an additional season, set to earn less over the next two years than Bellinger will make in 2025. With Tucker in the fold, Bellinger blocks a better outfielder in Seiya Suzuki or Ian Happ, and his bat and so-so glove are not worth keeping around at first at his salary. Hoerner on the other hand offers elite defense, and with Isaac Paredes’ inclusion in the Tucker trade, top prospect Matt Shaw becomes unblocked from taking over third where there was otherwise a minor infield logjam prior to the swap.

Thus, it appears a trade for Hoerner falls squarely into the long-shot bucket. That shouldn’t dissuade the Yankees from inquiring on his availability. Given the money gap in Bellinger trade talks, perhaps including Hoerner in the deal could convince the Yankees to eat all the money owed as well as net the Cubs a prospect return. Hoerner represents such a significant upgrade over all of the Yankees’ internal options for second as well as the remaining unsigned free agents at the position, and it’s a discussion worth having.