Cubs are probably keeping Nico Hoerner after Alex Bregman signing (but won’t hang up)

Even before the Chicago Cubs signed Alex Bregman, it made very little sense for the team to trade Nico Hoerner. Sure, the Cubs will listen if a team comes calling (that's the smart player regardless of their true intentions), but the potential cons of moving a homegrown leader outweigh any positives. While Bregman should ascend to a leadership role within the Cubs' clubhouse, it will likely still include Hoerner.

A report out of New York on Sunday indicated that the New York Yankees have reached out to the Cubs after they signed Bregman and expressed an interest in trading for the 28-year-old second baseman.

Naturally, Cubs fans saw this, and their instant belief was that Chicago's front office was about to lose all the goodwill they had just built for themselves in the last week. Once that wore off, the report needs to be taken for what it is.

The surprising thing would be if teams weren't reaching out to the Cubs after their signing of Bregman. Between Hoerner and Matt Shaw, it's only natural that interested teams are going to ask. The worst thing they can be told is that neither player is on the trade market. Along those lines, specifically to Pat Ragazzo's report, it's the Yankees who reached out to the Cubs, and New York who has a legitimate interest. Not the Cubs.

Alex Bregman deal likely ends Cubs’ Nico Hoerner trade talk — but not entirely

It's essentially the sentiment shared by The Athletic's Sahadev Sharma (subscription required). According to Sharma, the Cubs have given no indication that they are going to trade Hoerner this offseason, but true to their reputation, they are entertaining the calls if a team makes them an offer they can't refuse.

At the center of the Hoerner trade speculation is that the Cubs are approaching the first level of the CBT after they signed Bregman. While that is true, it's worth pointing out that Bregman's contract includes deferrals, something the Cubs went out of their comfort zone to provide. Following that decision up with the trade of Hoerner defies logic.

If the first level of the CBT is that much of a concern for the Cubs, the sound thing would be to approach Hoerner about an extension. Doing so may create additional wiggle room for the front office this season while giving the team a core of Bregman, Hoerner, Dansby Swanson, and Pete Crow-Armstrong in the years ahead.