Cubs sign second baseman Nico Hoerner to six-year contract extension: instant reactions

Money doesn’t solve everything. But it might make moving past an Opening Day loss to the Washington Nationals a bit easier for second baseman Nico Hoerner and the Chicago Cubs.

Hoerner, 28, finished Thursday’s opener 0-for-4 before word of an agreed-upon six-year contract extension broke shortly after the Cubs’ 10-4 loss. Bleacher Nation first reported the deal.

Taken 24th overall by the Cubs in the 2018 MLB Draft, Hoerner led all second basemen in fWAR (4.8) in 2025 and finished the season with the second-highest batting average among all players in the National League (.297). Over seven seasons with the Cubs, including four with at least 100 games played, Hoerner has collected 738 hits for a .282/.340/.384 slash line.

It’s the second time the Cubs have extended Hoerner’s contract. In 2023, he signed a three-year deal that began in 2024 and was set to expire at the end of the 2026 season.

Instead, Hoerner is locked down through 2032, matching teammate and center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, whose six-year, $115 million extension was officially announced by the Cubs on Thursday.

When asked during a radio hit on Thursday morning if Hoerner was next in line for an extension, general manager Jed Hoyer laughed and told 104.3 The Score’s Mully & Haugh, “No comment.”

Hoerner’s extension is the third long-term deal awarded by the team this year, including Crow-Armstrong’s extension and the five-year, $175 million contract signed by third baseman Alex Bregman in January.

The CHGO staff weighs in…

Patrick Norton: There’s an urgency for the Cubs to compete for championships again soon. Between Crow-Armstrong, Bregman and Hoerner, however, the window of opportunity is not short.

Hoerner and Crow-Armstrong are signed through 2032. Bregman through 2030. Dansby Swanson’s deal runs through 2029. And the Cubs have control of Matt Shaw through 2032 and Michael Busch through 2029, too.

Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki are still set to hit free agency at the end of the 2026 season. But the Cubs have positioned themselves to compete with this core for the foreseeable future. 

Is it a risk to commit to a group that’s yet to win anything together, including an NL Central title? It’s a risk regardless. And at some point, the results for the group have to come along. 

But if anybody was deserving of an extension after the Cubs locked down Crow-Armstrong just before the regular season, the obvious choice was Hoerner: a guy who plays hard every moment and has come through for his team time and time again.

Joey Christopoulos: The offseason on CHGO Cubs began with a simple mantra: “Do not trade Nico Hoerner.”

A Very Important Message from CHGO Cubs.

Talk to your Friends. Spread the Word.

Do Not Trade @nico_hoerner #SaveNico pic.twitter.com/dTkmjrQHXX

— CHGO Cubs (@CHGO_Cubs) January 13, 2026

The rallying cry grew into a Ferris Bueller-esque #SaveNico. Now, on Opening Day, it appears Cubs fans can proudly cast those aside. The future of Jed Hoyer’s Cubs is clear: build the team from the middle out. Dansby Swanson? Three years left on his deal. Pete Crow-Armstrong? Extended. And now, Nico Hoerner extended. Toss in an Alex Bregman deal and you’ve got most of the infield settled for the rest of the decade. Michael Busch next? 

When it comes to Hoerner, he’s the perfect player to root for: a homegrown talent who transplanted from shortstop into one of the best second basemen in the game and narrowly missed becoming one of only two NL players to hit .300 all of last year. Add to the mix a player who led the team with runners in scoring position in 2025, and this is another slam-dunk extension signing for the Cubs. I think his skills should age gracefully and I believe his intellect is elite. Trade Nico? Officially not in the cards.