The Mariners could “get creative” and try to acquire Nico Hoerner from the Cubs

To me, this is more of a continuation of things we already knew about a potential Nico Hoerner transfer, but as it’s an important part of Adam Jude and Ryan Divish’s “Winter Meetings Day One” update for the Seattle Times , I think it’s worth sharing.

Nico Hoerner is reportedly still on the Mariners’ radar:

“The most likely target for the Mariners remains Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner, a 27-year-old former Gold Glove winner. Hoerner, recovering from flexor tendon surgery in October, posted a 3.7 WAR via Baseball Reference in 2024 with a .273/.335/.373 (.708 OPS) with seven home runs and 31 steals.

Hoerner is owed $23.5 million over the next two seasons.

The Cubs are known to be looking for proven major league players in trade talks. According to an industry source, could the Mariners “get creative”? to try to make a deal work with the Cubs and potentially bring a third team into the negotiations.”

Obviously that’s going to get people wondering about these very unconfirmed Cubs-Mariners-White Sox rumors (wishes?) of a three-team deal that sends Hoerner to the Mariners and Garrett Crochet to the Cubs, with it There are scattered prospects throughout the deal to complete the work (example here). I don’t know to what extent there really are or ever were legs there, but it at least seems plausible.

Still, one could imagine many other possibilities if the Cubs try to get a starting batting pitcher from another club while the Mariners – who apparently don’t want to trade their own batting starters – act as a middleman to get him horns. Such deals are extremely difficult to execute, so I wouldn’t indulge in too much speculation. If the Mariners end up acquiring Hoerner, it would likely only be a two-team deal.

As for that part, I’m still wondering if teams need to see Hoerner’s throws – or at least get medical reports showing he’s doing them without issue in his rehab – before committing to a big trade. If that’s the case, who knows how long that might take. That certainly wasn’t going to happen this week. So if Hoerner is to be traded at the winter meetings, the other team will have to take on the rehab risk. Doesn’t seem ideal for the Cubs to get the kind of return a healthy Nico Hoerner is worth.

I guess that’s my way of reiterating that the Cubs don’t do that must Trade Hoerner this offseason only because of the obvious budget constraints (sigh) and the presence of Matt Shaw/James Triantos. It’s the same with them must Trade for Cody Bellinger. We’ve said all along that with both guys there are some rational reasons to do this, but you still have to add real value. And I don’t want my brain to go into the mindset of “Just make a deal!” Mode. I know the Cubs front office doesn’t feel that way.