The Chicago Cubs had three players win a gold glove at their respective position for the 2025 season and while Pete Crow-Armstrong led the group with the best highlight tape it was Nico Hoerner's second win that was even more impressive than fans may think. No, it's not because Hoerner lapped the field on pretty much every single defensive metric among National League second basemen, it's the fact that Hoerner did that while still feeling the effects of his offseason surgery on his throwing arm and wasn't 100% healthy until July.
Hoerner, who was honored with his first gold glove in 2023, was named the winner on Sunday night as the infielder cemented his legacy as one of the best defensive second baseball in all of baseball with his second piece of hardware.
The Cubs didn't want to rush Hoerner back from right flexor tendon surgery entering the 2025 season, which is why Hoerner did not make the trip over to Japan in the middle of March for the Tokyo Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hoerner remained in Arizona, where he continued to rehab in hopes of being ready for the domestic opening day against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Hoerner started in 156 of 162 regular season games, including 153 at second base. He led the position with 17 defensive runs saved, 14 outs above average and ranked No. 1 on FanGraphs for fielding runs above average. The second baseman wasn't even doing any of his regular pre-game throwing until after the All-Star break.
He missed the once-in-a-lifetime trip to Japan to open the season in the Tokyo Series, as he stayed back in Arizona to continue his rehab and ensure he was ready for the domestic opener. And even when he returned, he wasn’t really himself.
Hoerner didn’t begin throwing in his pregame work until around the second half of the season.
“I think the All-Star break was pretty helpful this year, having a little time off in the middle of the year,” Hoerner said.
Now, Hoerner will once again have the benefit of a normal offseason, so the sky is the limit for the two-time gold glover. One thing's for sure, Hoerner will 100% put in all his effort as he's shown throughout his career.
(Previous Update)
Nico Hoerner's status for Opening Day has been looming over the Cubs' this offseason and now it's finally been confirmed. It's been trending this way since Hoerner showed up to spring training and on Thursday the Cubs revealed that their starting second baseman will not be going to Japan in March and will miss the first two games of the regular season against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Hoerner underwent right flexor tendon surgery back in October and while the injury is most commonly seen in pitchers the timeline always worked against the infielder being ready for the Cubs' first two games in the middle of March.
Cubs 2b Nico Hoerner won't go to Japan with the team to open the season next month. He's still recovering from flexor tendon surgery. He'll stay back to continue his rehab.
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) February 27, 2025
It's not all bad news, though, as Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Hoerner remains on track to play at the end of March. The Cubs start their normal regular season against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Following the pair of games in Japan the Cubs will return to prepare for Opening Day across MLB on March 27.
So, while his teammates are in Japan, Hoerner will remain in camp and will continue to ramp up by playing in minor league scrimmages.
Nico Hoerner is staying behind for the Tokyo trip, as @JesseRogersESPN said. Craig Counsell framed it as good news: Hoerner is on track for domestic opening day and the plan is to have him play in minor-league spring training games while the team is gone.
— Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) February 27, 2025
(Previous Update)
Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner had a surprise surgery following the end of the 2024 regular season and everything we've heard about his status for the start of 2025 doesn't paint a rosy picture for the 2023 gold glove winner. Hoerner was recently on 670 The Score and even he couldn't confidently say that he would be fully healthy by the time spring training comes around in February.
Hoerner, who played in 151 of the team's 162 games this past season, underwent right flexor tendon surgery in early October. During his appearance on the Spiegel & Holmes Show Thursday, Hoerner was asked directly if he would be ready when the Cubs report to Mesa, Ariz., to begin preparation for the 2025 season. Here's how Hoerner responded.
Via 670 The Score.
"There are no worries about February like you'll be full go by training camp," Laurence Holmes asks.
"No, I don't know. We're working on it. I think projecting that far out ahead is a bit challenging. It's an injury that most of the timelines I feel like are based on pitchers. So, I think there's going to be some feel throughout that process, but I'm feeling good about it right now."
Sure, I'd love for Hoerner to say that he'll be 100% in four months, but at the same time this is his first ever surgery and like he pointed out most of the timelines for returns are based on pitchers, who primarily get the flexor tendon surgery.
Hoerner said the arm issue mainly effected his throwing, jokingly pointing out his throws during the month of September. Meanwhile, the second baseman hit .355 in the final month of the season, sixth-best among all players in MLB.
So, hopefully Hoerner's rehab goes as smooth as possible this offseason. Fingers crossed that he'll be fine by the start of spring training.
(Previous Update)
Ummm, this seems bad. We always expect to hear an announcement or two during the offseason regarding a player needing surgery and you always cross your fingers that it isn't something big, but this surgery to Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner seems major.
On Monday, the Cubs announced that Hoerner underwent right flexor tendon surgery earlier in October.
Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner underwent right flexor tendon surgery on Oct. 11th, team announces.
— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) October 21, 2024
Dr. Keith Meister performed the procedure.
This is coming completely out of nowhere because although Hoerner did miss a few games on two separate occasions during the 2024 season he never went on the injured list and played in 151 games. Hoerner did deal with a hand fracture back in June, but he was back in the lineup after only missing a handful of games. No idea if this new development is related.
There's still no word from the Cubs regarding a timetable for Hoerner's recovery, but at the very least his offseason program will be affected by this procedure. Will he be ready by spring training? Will this affect his performance at the plate in 2025?
Another big issue is that whether you believe he should be shopped or not this winter, Hoerner undergoing a serious surgery pretty much sinks his trade value during the next 4-5 months.
Hoerner, 27, will begin the 2025 season with two years left on his contract with the Cubs.
