Alex Bregman signed with the Chicago Cubs in early January, leaving the Boston Red Sox in the dust after another long offseason spent pursuing him. Bo Bichette has also signed and Ketel Marte has been removed from the trade market, and many rumors have suggested the Red Sox turn to the team that stole Bregman to trade for their backup plan.
Many optimistic fans and writers have guessed that the Cubs will make second baseman Nico Hoerner available on the trade market since Bregman joined their infield. The 28-year-old has one year of team control remaining on his contract and Chicago could hope to get out in front of his departure in free agency and secure a return for him. In an article published on January 22, MLB insider Jon Heyman confirmed that the Red Sox are "one of many" teams that have checked in about a potential trade for Hoerner (subscription required).
But Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report (alongside many others) does not see this happening. They categorized Hoerner trade rumors as a 9.9/10 on BR's "BS Meter."
Unfortunately, Hoerner would be a good fit in the Sox's infield (although not as good as Bregman would've been). He's a great all-around player, unlike many of the other options available on the free agent and trade market this late in the winter — Eugenio Suárez and Isaac Paredes are both poor defenders and aren't as well-rounded as Hoerner.
Bleacher Report doesn't expect Cubs to trade Nico Hoerner, removing another potential Red Sox infield trade target
The main justification for Miller's argument is Hoerner's status as one of the best position players in the game. The second baseman earned MVP votes in 2025 and has secured two Gold Gloves in his career while maintaining consistency at the plate. He's slashed .282/.340/.384 with a .723 OPS in his seven-year career and batted .297/.345/.394 with a .739 OPS with 29 doubles, four triples and seven homers over 156 games in 2025.
Hoerner is only owed $12 million for the coming season, so the Cubs wouldn't save much money from trading him in the final year of his contract. Their contending window is also wide open after acquiring Bregman and keeping Hoerner around is key to their offense, especially after Matt Shaw's inconsistent rookie season.
If Boston were to pull off a trade for Hoerner, he would man second base while Marcelo Mayer moves to Bregman's former home at the hot corner. Mayer played there for a spell while Bregman was injured and did a solid job defensively — certainly better than Suárez or Paredes would do.
But the Red Sox will have to look to clubs other than Chicago for their final infield addition. Not only are the Cubs likely to keep Hoerner to make a run to the World Series in his final year on the roster, but their reported asking price for him is steep, and Boston has already made 10 trades this offseason.