The Chicago Cubs are going to have a fascinating decision to make next offseason and while it seems like a no-brainer to bring back Nico Hoerner longterm because duh, he's a good ballplayer, there's always some uneasiness when free agency comes around. If the Cubs don't work out another extension to keep Hoerner before he becomes a free agent after the 2026 season, then he'll be one of the most coveted middle infielders available, which could spell trouble for a front office that doesn't like getting into bidding wars.
Hoerner's future contract comes to mind now after the recent free agent deal that the Atlanta Braves and Ha-Seong Kim agreed to earlier this week. The defensive stud missed the majority of last season, recovering from shoulder surgery and was eventually traded by the Tampa Bay Rays to the Braves. Kim opted out of his two-year, $29 million contract, became a free agent once again and re-signed with Atlanta.
Despite only playing in 48 games in 2025, and posting a .649 OPS with an 82 wRC+, Kim was still able to secure a one-year, $20 million contract from the Braves. The 30-year-old came over from the KBO in 2021, originally signing with the San Diego Padres ahead of the 2021 season. In four seasons with the Padres, Kim established himself as one of the best defensive players in the game, ultimately winning a Gold Glove award in 2023.
Kim has primarily started at shortstop during his MLB career, but he's also moved around the diamond, starting at second base and third base, while recording good defensive numbers at all three positions. However, he's been a league average hitter at best since debuting in the majors, posting a combined 99 wRC+ across 2,100+ plate appearances. Kim's best season at the plate came in 2023, when he hit 17 home runs, slashed .260/.351/.398, with a 110 wRC+.
Obviously a lot of Kim's value comes from his defense as he's 22 defensive runs saved at shortstop, 15 DRS at second base and 8 DRS at third base throughout his MLB career.
That brings us back to Hoerner. He'll be a year younger than Kim next offseason and while he's been at second base for the past three seasons, Hoerner will most certainly try to sell himself as a shortstop on the free-agent market. Back in 2022, Hoerner made 128 starts at shortstop, where he ranked third in the National League with 10 Defensive Runs Saved and second with 13 Outs Above Average.
Since then, Hoerner has become a two-time Gold Glove winner at second base and in 2025, he hit .297 in the regular season before becoming one of the best hitters in the postseason with a .419 batting average.
Since becoming an every-day starter with the Cubs in 2022, Hoerner has posted the following fWAR each season:
Nico Hoerner fWAR, 2022-2025
2022: 135 games, 4.3 fWAR
2023: 150 games, 4.5 fWAR
2024: 151 games, 3.9 fWAR
2025: 156 games, 4.8 fWAR
Let's compare that to Ha-Seong Kim's numbers before his injury-shortened 2025 season.
Ha-Seong Kim fWAR, 2021-2024
2021: 117 games, 0.4 fWAR
2022: 150 games, 3.6 fWAR
2023: 152 ganes, 4.2 fWAR
2024: 121 games, 2.6 fWAR
We'll see how Kim plays in 2026 with the Braves and if he can perform better a year removed from his shoulder surgery because along with him it seems like Jazz Chisholm Jr. will be the only other middle infielder to give Hoerner competition in free agency.
Below are the top free agent second basemen and shortstops following the 2026 season.
Second Base
Ozzie Albies (30) – $7MM club option
Jazz Chisholm Jr. (29)
Mauricio Dubon (32)
Luis Garcia Jr. (27)
Nico Hoerner (30)
Jonathan India (30)
Brandon Lowe (32)
Gavin Lux (29)
Nick Madrigal (30)
Amed Rosario (31)
Gleyber Torres (30)
Shortstop
J.P. Crawford (32)
Mauricio Dubon (32)
Ha-Seong Kim (31)
Kevin Newman (33)
Look at that list of shortstops. Nico Hoerner is 100% going to enter free agency telling every team who is interested in him to pay him shortstop money. He'll be 29-years-old and you can easily see him signing a five-year, $100 million contract at minimum. Will it come from the Cubs? They Dansby Swanson signed through 2029 and Matt Shaw won't be a free agent until 2032.
The Cubs should lock up Hoerner as soon as they can because if not, then they'll be in serious danger of losing the talented infielder in free agency.
