Cubs Offseason Position Review: Second Base

A look back at how each position performed in 2025, and a look ahead to 2026. These posts will compare the MLB rankings from 2024 with those produced in 2025, as well as individual statistics for all players who played the position in 2025.

Here are the other entries:
Catcher
First Base

Positional Rankings: 2025 vs 2024

Stat	2024	2025	Change
WAR	3.8 (4th)	4.9 (2nd)	+1.1 (+2)
HR	8 (t26th)	8 (t26th)	+0 (+0)
RBI	55 (26th)	62 (t16th)	+7(+10)
OPS	.710 (9th)	.728 (6th)	+.018 (+3)
wRC+	102 (t9th)	106 (4th)	+4 (+5)
DRS	3 (8th)	18 (t2nd)	+15 (+6)

Values are total and then MLB rank in parentheses
DRS = Defensive Runs Saved

With apologies to Ian Happ, Nico Hoerner may be the most underappreciated Cub. When you take a look at the league rankings for second base, the Cubs are second in WAR, 4th in weighted runs created plus, and 2nd in defensive runs saved. And despite the fact that Hoerner has limited power (26th in home runs), his OPS put the Cubs 6th in the majors.

I wrote about Hoerner earlier this season here: https://cubsin7.blog/2025/08/24/the-unsung-underappreciated-and-undervalued-nico-hoerner/

Hoerner’s offense saw slight improvement from 2024 to 2025, but the real difference was his defense, finishing first in the NL at second base with 17 defensive runs saved. Most of this improvement can be attributed to being healthy, after playing much of 2024 with a bad elbow that required surgery in the offseason.

Individual Stats as a second baseman

Name	G	WAR	HR	RBI	OPS	wRC+	DRS
Nico Hoerner	153	4.6	7	59	.739	109	17
Jon Berti	9	0.0	0	0	.496	50	2
Willi Castro	5	-0.1	1	3	.647	69	0
Vidal Bruján	3	-0.1	0	0	.000	-100	0
Matt Shaw	2	0.1	0	0	1.500	316	-1
Nicky Lopez	1	0	0	0	.000	-100	0

Hoerner played in almost all the games at second, and was typically starting at shortstop in the other games. He was consistent and healthy for the entire season, so there was no real need for a strong backup. That’s a really good thing, as the combination of Berti and Brujan were not valuable bench guys, and Willi Castro was very disappointing as a trade acquisition.

The big move for Hoerner offensively was his move up to the top of the lineup, hitting lead-off against left-handers and second against right-handers at the end of the season. Here are his splits based on place in the batting order:

Batting Order	PA	HR	R	RBI	OBP	OPS	wRC+
Batting 1st	75	1	12	6	.333	.722	104
Batting 2nd	50	1	7	4	.340	.723	106
Batting 5th	57	2	9	4	.351	.880	142
Batting 6th	216	0	29	19	.333	.687	96
Batting 7th	151	3	17	19	.364	.811	127
Batting 8th	100	0	15	9	.350	.683	99

I would be nice to see a better on base number when hitting first, and his numbers were generally better hitting 5th or 7th. but he did pretty well hitting higher in the lineup.

Hoerner was the best hitter on the Cubs with runners in scoring position, as I mentioned in my previous post.

Name	PA	AVG	RBI	K%	OPS
Nico Hoerner	172	.371	51	10.5%	.881
Seiya Suzuki	180	.311	76	20.6%	.997
Michael Busch	141	.292	56	20.6%	.891
Ian Happ	170	.271	58	20.6%	.804
Kyle Tucker	137	.267	50	12.4%	.865
Pete Crow-Armstrong	176	.248	69	25.6%	.792
Carson Kelly	134	.246	38	18.7%	.749
Dansby Swanson	174	.204	51	28.7%	.634

He was the Cub I most wanted at the plate with runners on 3rd and less than 2 outs, based on the average and low strikeout percentage. And his ability to hit in the clutch is not something that was limited to 2005.

Hoerner was also great during his first Postseason, especially compared to the rest of the team:

Name	PA	AVG	OBP	OPS	wRC+
Michael Busch	31	.296	.387	1.128	202
Justin Turner	2	.500	.500	1.000	190
Nico Hoerner	33	.419	.424	.973	172
Seiya Suzuki	32	.226	.250	.863	132
Kyle Tucker	32	.259	.375	.745	118
Carson Kelly	30	.179	.233	.519	36
Ian Happ	33	.100	.156	.490	31
Matt Shaw	23	.118	.318	.436	50
Dansby Swanson	29	.154	.241	.434	28
Pete Crow-Armstrong	29	.185	.214	.399	12
Moisés Ballesteros	3	.000	.000	.000	-100

The primary reason the Cubs were not able to move past the NLDS was 5 regulars with an OPS of .519 or lower. Michal Busch had a great postseason with his home runs, but Nico was the only guy that seemed to be getting on base during the whole postseason.

As mentioned, Nico was outstanding defensively, and should probably win the Gold Glove. Here are the top 5 fields in the NL based on DRS

#	Name	Team	DRS	OAA	Def
1	Nico Hoerner	CHC	17	14	12.3
2	Xavier Edwards	MIA	12	9	7.8
3	Hyeseong Kim	LAD	9	4	3.4
4	Christian Koss	SFG	8	0	0.6
5	Brice Turang	MIL	7	-2	0.8
6	Tyler Fitzgerald	SFG	7	0	1.0

DRS – Defensive Runs Saved
OAA – Outs Above Average
Def – Defensive Runs Above Average

Based on these numbers, the voting should not even be close. Brice Turang is often referred to as the best fielding second baseman in baseball, but he barely finished in the top 5 in runs saved and had a negative outs above average. Hopefully, Turang’s reputation and better offensive numbers will not sway the voters.

2026 Outlook

Player	2026 Contract
Nico Hoerner	$12M in 2026

Hoerner is the only true second baseman on the roster, and the utility infield spot is currently empty. There are really only 2 big questions as we go into 2026:

1. Will the Cubs be able to extend Nico Hoerner’s contract past 2026. Hoerner is truly valuable, but I don’t know exactly how much he is worth or would be willing to accept.

Here are some of the top salaries of 2nd basement in MLB for 2026:

Player	2026 Salary
Jose Altuve	$33M
Marcus Semian	$26M
Xander Bogaerts	$25.45M
Ketel Marte	$16M
Jeff McNeil	$15.75M
Anders Gimenez	$15.57M
Nico Hoerner	$12M
Brandon Lowe	$11.5M
Jorge Polanco	$8M

I would guess the Hoerner would need at least $20 million annually over several years to lock him in. With the impending lockout, how willing will the Cubs be to commit to a long-term deal? And the Cubs also have several other players heading toward free agency in 2027, including Seiya Suzuki, Ian Happ, and Jameson Taillon with Carson Kelly and Matthew Boyd on mutual option years – which are never picked up. Plus, Shota Imanaga might be a free agent after 2026, depending on how this off-season goes. And Colin Rea and Andrew Kittredge would be free agents if their options are picked up for 2026.

Determining which of those players the Cubs should extend is probably something that I will look at in a future post, but at this moment, I would put Hoerner at the top of the list of all those previously mentioned players.

If Hoerner is not extended, the top option I’ve seen discussed is Matt Shaw. If the Cubs go out in 2026 or 2027 and acquire a third basement to replace Shaw, he could move over to second base, which would seem more a natural position due to his lack of arm strength.

2. The other big question is who the Cubs will bring in as a utility infielder in 2026. It would be preferable to get someone who could back up Hoerner at 2nd and Shaw at 3rd, as Hoerner can be the backup for Dansby Swanson.

The Berti/Brujan combo that the Cubs went with in the first half of 2025 just did not work. Both were primarily used at third during Shaw’s early season struggles, but they just did not provide any value. Willi Castillo was a great fit, in concept, but he just did not produce for the Cubs the way he had for the Twins.

Hopefully, the Cubs can find a reasonably priced player who can play multiple positions – and hit left-handed, if possible. If they decide to go after a starter at third base, that would change the equation, as Matt Shaw would immediately become the utility player.