The late-night/early-morning spot for Cubs fans asks what grade do you give Nico Hoerner
It’s Tuesday evening here at BCB After Dark: the hippest hangout for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. We’re so glad you decided to stop by. There’s no cover charge tonight. If you want to check anything, we can do that now. There are still a few available tables. Bring your own beverage.
BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.
Still no baseball until Friday.
Last night, I asked you what you thought about the Cubs interest in (probable) free agent right-hander Nathan Eovaldi. You were decidedly unexcited by the possibility, as 41 percent of you gave the move a “meh.” The rest of you were pretty evenly split as 31 percent said “Nay!” and 28 percent said “Yay!”
On Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning, I don’t normally do a movie essay. But I always have time for jazz, so those of you who skip that can do so now. You won’t hurt my feelings.
Here’s a Halloween favorite that I’m bringing back for the season. It’s Eartha Kitt singing “I Want To Be Evil.” I believe this is from Danish television in 1953. But don’t quote me on that.
Welcome back to everyone who skips all that jazz.
The Cubs this week announced that second baseman Nico Hoerner underwent surgery to repair his right flexor tendon. While the Cubs have not made any statements as to how long it will take to recover from the surgery, the article certainly makes it sound like Hoerner’s availability for the start of next season is in question.
But tonight, I’m just going to ask you to grade Hoerner’s 2024 season. I have to admit, that Hoerner hitting .355/.375/.495 in September and October while he was possibly dealing with this injury makes his 2024 season a little more impressive. At least it does to me.
Hoerner played 151 games this season and hit .273/.335/.373 with seven home runs and 31 steals. That’s a 101 OPS+ score, which is right in line with the 102 OPS+ that Hoerner finished the 2023 season with. As well as his career 100 OPS+.
Hoerner won a Gold Glove in 2023 and he’s not going to win one this year. According to both the Baseball Reference and Fangraphs numbers, Hoerner’s defense slipped a bit in 2024. To be clear, he was still a very good defensive second baseman. He just wasn’t elite anymore, at least according to the numbers.
But both Fangraphs and Baseball Reference pretty much agree on Hoerner’s value to the Cubs in 2024, giving him a WAR of 3.9 and 3.7 respectively. That’s a pretty good major league regular, but not quite All-Star level.
This injury is also going to make it more difficult to trade Hoerner to open up room for Matt Shaw or James Triantos. But that’s a question for a different night.
So what grade do you give Hoerner for his 2024 season?
And if you want to talk about the surgery in the comments, please do.
That’s it for this evening. We hope you’ve had a good time. If you checked anything, let us get that for you now. Please get home safely. Tip the waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow evening for more BCB After Dark.