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Yesterday brought the deeply unpleasant surprise that second baseman Nico Hoerner had surgery earlier in the month, repairing the flexor tendon in his right forearm.
The details yesterday were sparse, and they aren’t much better now, but we do know a little bit more.
As for timeline, the word is … there isn’t one. Per The Tribune and The Athletic, the Cubs aren’t going to develop a precise timeline until Hoerner reports to Spring Training next year. It will depend on how he’s progressing in his recovery in the interim.
You can find recovery times on flexor tendon surgery ranging from six months to twelve months depending on where you look and the nature of the player’s injury, but those are all pitchers and catchers, so I think we’re just going to have to deal with a whole lot of uncertainty here when it comes to a second baseman. It sounds like it’s possible Hoerner gets something of a green light in February or March to start a normal season ramp-up. It also sounds like it’s possible that’s when everyone involved lays out a timetable that extends well into the regular season. That part is all guesswork right now. The only semi-sure thing is that we’re probably not going to know much more until January/February at the earliest.
The Athletic adds that the injury was something Hoerner was dealing with for a “significant portion” of the regular season, which does make you wonder about his uneven production (he did get hot to end the year, though), and about his arm strength being down a bit. Maybe it was actually impressive that he finished up with a pretty typical year in the end. Hoerner, 27, is signed through the 2026 season.
I know the obvious next questions, but I think it’s way too early to get nuts on trying to predict what exactly happens at second base in relation to this news.
Maybe Hoerner shows up in the Spring and is completely fine and that’s that. Maybe a surprise trade happens, even in spite of the surgery. Maybe Hoerner has to start the season late, and the Cubs fill in at second base directly with Matt Shaw or James Triantos or Luis Vazquez or Miles Mastrobuoni. Or maybe the Cubs put Isaac Paredes there and have one of those guys play at third base. Or maybe Michael Busch goes to play some second base, as he has in the past. Or some other utility infielder they’ve picked up in the interim. Here in late-October, there are just so many possibilities.
Personally, I just want to root for a smooth and full recovery for Hoerner, with word dropping in February that he’s in Arizona, he’s already throwing at full strength, he’s taking batting practice, and everything is fine.