{"id":169648,"date":"2026-03-27T01:31:44","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T01:31:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169648"},"modified":"2026-03-27T01:31:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T01:31:44","slug":"you-wont-believe-who-the-cubs-just-extended-the-secret-behind-this-home-grown-stars-new-contract-is-about-to-blow-up-the-nl-central","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169648","title":{"rendered":"You Won\u2019t Believe Who the Cubs Just Extended\u2026 The Secret Behind This Home-Grown Star\u2019s New Contract Is About to Blow Up the NL Central"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/tQbLmfpJ8UQUg5klBrHQ3A--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTY0MDtoPTQzNDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/chicago_tribune_local_801\/48a22f253d6ad85fa8f9ee3f4f0156a8\" alt=\"Nico Hoerner and the Chicago Cubs agree to a 6-year contract extension:  sources - Yahoo Sports\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In the grand scheme of things, the Chicago Cubs came out winners on Opening Day as the organization once again secured another one of their home-grown stars. A few days after agreeing to a long-term extension with Pete Crow-Armstrong, Jed Hoyer was able to agree on a six-year contract extension with Gold Glove second baseman Nico Hoerner.<\/p>\n<p>The Cubs now have their entire infield locked up through at least the 2029 season, and Hoerner joins Crow-Armstrong as the two linked stars who will be with the team through the 2032 season. Bleacher Nation\u2019s Michael Cerami first broke the news of the Hoerner extension following Thursday\u2019s season-opener at Wrigley Field against the Washington Nationals.<\/p>\n<p>A tough-look 10-4 loss bummed out Cubs fans, but those feelings quickly turned to joy as news spread of Hoerner\u2019s new contract. The infielder was set to become a free agent following the 2026 season, and because of a weak shortstop class there was a chance Hoerner would have signed a big-money deal elsewhere as one of the top options in the middle of the infield.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">SOURCES: The Chicago Cubs have extended second baseman Nico Hoerner.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Michael_Cerami\/status\/2037287301101781232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 26, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>ESPN\u2019s Jesse Rogers and New York Post MLB reporter Jon Heyman have both said the Hoerner extension is for six years.<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udd25 Subscribe to the <b>Untold Chicago YouTube channel<\/b> to hear Chicago legends tell stories you\u2019ve never seen in headlines \u2014 real moments, real experiences, straight from the athletes themselves.<\/p>\n<p>Back in 2023, Hoerner and the Cubs agreed to a three-year, $35 million deal before Opening Day.<\/p>\n<p>Dating back to 2022, Hoerner has been remarkably consistent in all aspects of his game. Even when he wasn\u2019t tearing it up at the plate, Hoerner made it up for it with outstanding defense and great base running.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2022: <\/strong>135 games, 281\/.327\/.410, 20 stolen bases, 108 wRC+, 13 OAA, 10 DRS, 4.3 fWAR<br \/>\n<strong>2023: <\/strong>150 games, .283\/.346\/.383, 43 stolen bases, 103 wRC+, 13 OAA, 11 DRS, 4.5 fWAR<br \/>\n<strong>2024: <\/strong>151 games, .273\/.335\/.373, 31 stolen bases, 102 wRC+, 10 OAA, 4 DRS, 3.9 fWAR<br \/>\n<strong>2025: <\/strong>156 games, .297\/.345\/.394, 29 stolen bases, 109 wRC+, 14 OAA, 17 DRS, 4.8 fWAR<\/p>\n<p>Hoerner, 28, had his best season in 2025. Not only did he have a 4.8 fWAR and win his second Gold Glove award at second base, but he also led all the players in his position with a 6.2 bWAR. That mark was tied with Juan Soto for seventh-best in MLB among position players.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The only Cubs player to debut since 1970 to be more productive by bWAR across his age 25-to-28 seasons than Hoerner (19.6) is Anthony Rizzo (20.0 from 2015-18).<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; nugget chef (@jayhaykid) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jayhaykid\/status\/2037290851731185705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 26, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>A great day for the future of the Chicago Cubs. Well done. This is what fans have been asking for years. Keep your good players.<\/p>\n<p>For more, check out the Pinwheels And Ivy Podcast, where we had a live reaction to the breaking news.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"BREAKING: Chicago Cubs Sign Nico Hoerner to 6-Year Contract Extension!\" width=\"790\" height=\"444\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EkvsIKS40G0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the grand scheme of things, the Chicago Cubs came out winners on Opening Day as the organization once again secured another one of their home-grown stars&#8230;. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":169653,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-169648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - 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