Cubs to option Hoerner, Sogard expected to make team originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The biggest position battle in Cubs camp gained a lot more clarity Friday night with word the club will option Nico Hoerner to the minor leagues to start the season.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Jesse Rogers first reported the news.
Veteran Eric Sogard, in camp as a non-roster invitee, is expected to make the opening roster.
Whether service time played into the decision, ESPN reports the Cubs will gain an extra year of club control if Hoerner remains in the minor leagues for 36 days to open the season.
The Cubs are optioning second baseman Nico Hoerner, sources tell @JesseRogersESPN and me. Eric Sogard is expected to make the team.
Evaluators saw Hoerner as the best 2B in camp. Service-time considerations are very real. If he’s in minors for 36 days, Cubs get an extra year.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 27, 2021
Hoerner and Sogard have been competing for the starting second base job this spring, along with David Bote and Ildemaro Vargas. The 23-year-old Hoerner seemed to have the inside lane to the job at the onset of camp, before the club added the veteran Sogard on a minor-league deal earlier this month.
Hoerner skipped Triple-A entirely when the Cubs promoted him to the big leagues in an emergency situation in 2019. In fact, he has far more at-bats in the minors (337) than the big leagues (186). With the addition of Sogard, a developmental stretch in the minor leagues loomed as a possibility.
Of course, the minor-league season is delayed until May, so Hoerner will be training at the Cubs’ alternate site.
Cubs manager David Ross said earlier this month Hoerner’s job was “to make it as tough on me and Jed [Hoyer] and our group as possible to put him in the lineup.” And a recent 0-for-16 skid aside, the 2020 NL Gold Glove finalist has impressed at the plate, hitting .361 through Friday.
Sogard has also had a strong performance at the plate (.370, 10-for-27) as have Bote and Vargas. With Hoerner’s demotion, Sogard and Bote figure to split the starting reps at second base, with Vargas in the picture in a reserve role.
Hoerner’s demotion leaves Sogard and Vargas as backup shortstop options behind starter Javier Báez.
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