Cubs: When will Nico Hoerner get that much-awaited phone call?

Few Chicago Cubs players had better springs than Nico Hoerner. He looked stronger, certainly more sure of himself, and his stats were good: 16-for-44, 8 runs, 11 RBI and an OPS of 1.055. He looked like a shoo-in, and then was optioned to Triple-A.

Why?

Forget the “he needs more seasoning” excuse; it’s the old Kris Bryant quandary all over again. By keeping Hoerner in the minors for 36 more days, the club gets to keep him another year before having to deal with free agency.

So we’ll see him in about three more weeks then? Not so fast.

There are two factors that can affect his return. One is how well he performs in Triple-A. Remember, it is his first stint at that level. Previously, Hoerner was brought up to the big leagues from Double-A ball, skipping right past Iowa on his way to Chicago.

From his performance this spring I doubt that he will falter in the minors, but you never know. Not staying with the parent club, no matter how well he might understand the reason, might mess with his head a little.

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But let’s say that doesn’t occur. What other factor could mitigate against Hoerner rejoining the bigs? Possibly the delicate balancing act David Ross is going to have to deal with this season. Rossy has a lot of new pieces to arrange into a lineup: Matt Duffy, Jake Marisnick and Eric Sogard are the wild cards. For Hoerner to come up, one of them has to leave.

Cubs have some tough decisions to make

David Bote is locked up on a long-term contract so it’s unlikely he will go anywhere.

If it’s Marisnick, then Bryant becomes the fourth outfielder and Heyward backs up Happ in center. I think more likely it is Duffy or Sogard. But what if both of them are playing well?

Sogard has played all the infield positions but first base. He also has played a handful of games in the outfield. Duffy can play all the infield positions, but since Bote can also play third, and Bryant or Contreras have played first, I’m betting Duffy is the odd man out.

You can see the problem Rossy has?

It’s an interesting dilemma. We’ll just have to see what surprises May will bring.