Chicago Cubs trade pitch moves on from Nico Hoerner in deal with American League contender for three players amid rumors

Spring Training might be here, but there’s still plenty of time to make a trade, and we should start to see some over the next few days to weeks prior to Opening Day.

Sports Illustrated’s Ryan Shea floated an intriguing trade that could help the Chicago Cubs and Seattle Mariners.

In the hypothetical trade, Seattle would acquire Gold Glove infielder Nico Hoerner, while Chicago would secure a package of young, controllable talent, which would improve its long-term core.

Mariners acquire: Hoerner

Cubs acquire: Emerson Hancock, Colt Emerson, Cole Young

From Seattle’s standpoint, adding Hoerner would provide another really good offensive player at the top of their lineup and elite defense, which are two areas the Mariners have wanted to improve in recent years. For Chicago, the move would be to get off of Hoerner before likely losing him for nothing in free agency in 2027.

“From Chicago’s perspective, moving Hoerner at peak value allows them to acquire controllable assets aligned with a longer-term competitive window. Emerson provides a premium middle infield prospect, Hancock adds a near-MLB-ready starting pitcher, and Young offers a high upside infielder with strong contact skills,” he wrote.

Hancock could slot into the rotation in the short term, while Emerson and Young would give the Cubs two promising infield building blocks as they reshape their farm system. However, with Dansby Swanson and Alex Bregman in the infield, the Cubs have enough infielders, so that’s something to consider.

Whether Chicago will move on from Hoerner remains uncertain, but the noise is there and it seems like it’ll happen sometime in the near future.

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