It blows my mind that people are saying Nico Hoerner is the Cub most likely to be traded this offseason. In the past three seasons, he’s been our BEST player.
Nico Hoerner’s WAR rating on the Cubs the past three seasons puts him at the top.
Baseball-Reference WAR
2024: 3rd
2023: 1st
2022: 2nd
FanGraphs WAR
2024: 2nd
2023: 3rd
2022: 1st
If we tally up 2002, 2023, 2024
Baseball-Reference WAR
| Nico Hoerner | 13 |
| Ian Happ | 11.1 |
| Dansby Swanson | 8.8 |
| Seiya Suzuki | 8.1 |
| Justin Steele | 7.7 |
| Cody Bellinger | 6.6 |
| Javier Assad | 5 |
| Marcus Stroman | 4.3 |
| Willson Contreras | 3.8 |
| Shota Imanaga | 3.1 |
FanGraphs WAR
| Nico Hoerner | 12.8 |
| Ian Happ | 10.7 |
| Justin Steele | 10.3 |
| Dansby Swanson | 9.2 |
| Seiya Suzuki | 8.7 |
| Cody Bellinger | 6.6 |
| Marcus Stroman | 4.7 |
| Jameson Taillon | 3.8 |
| Willson Contreras | 3.5 |
| Kyle Hendricks | 3.4 |
Whichever version of WAR you look at—baseball-reference or FanGraphs, Nico Hoerner leads the Cubs in WAR for the past three years.
Right now the Cubs need franchise players. The only other active Cub with more WAR as a Cub is Ian Happ. He has 17.7 bWAR (18.1 fWAR) compared to Hoerner’s 15.1 bWAR (15.3 fWAR). But Hoerner is three years younger than Happ.
Also, Nico Hoerner is the only MLB player to be in the MLB top ten for AB/SO, SB, and Def WAR for two years in a row. Only player EVER.
The Cubs should keep Nico Hoerner.
