Cubs' out-of-nowhere extension news with fan favorite dulls Opening Day loss

In the immediate aftermath of the Chicago Cubs' signing Pete Crow-Armstrong to a contract extension, the attention turned to Nico Hoerner. Hoerner was among the handful of players the Cubs had with expiring contracts at the end of the season, but Jed Hoyer and Co. aren't letting it get to that point with the 28-year-old second baseman.

Bleacher Nation's Michael Cerami reports that the Cubs and Hoerner have agreed to a contract extension.

Nico Hoerner's contract extension cements the Chicago Cubs' contending core for years to come.

After the Cubs signed Alex Bregman this offseason, Hoerner immediately became the subject of trade rumors. The impression was that the Cubs may sell high on their second baseman instead of risking the chance of losing him for nothing at the end of the season.

That idea was never aligned with how the Cubs were acting. Bregman's arrival signaled they were looking for sustained success, and Hoerner's extension is the latest proof of that.

While Cubs fans had to wait nearly a full day for the details on Crow-Armstrong's contract extension to be revealed, information on Hoerner's deal is already starting to leak. ESPN's Jesse Rogers reports that Hoerner's new deal with the Cubs is for six years.

The idea of the Cubs trading Hoerner this offseason never added up. Not only did he slash .297/.345/.394 with a wRC+ of 109 last season, but he also emerged as a true leader within the Cubs' clubhouse.

For an organization that boldly claimed the focus was on winning after their aggressive deal for Bregman, it would have been inexcusable for the team to let Hoerner walk at the end of the season. That isn't something that winning teams do.

Even with the Cubs' Opening Day loss, Hoerner's extension continues to give the impression that Hoyer and the Cubs' front office are acting in a different way. The Cubs certainly still have their chips pushed to the middle of the table for the 2026 season, but they clearly believe their contention window is going to extend into the next several seasons.

The core of the Cubs is clear. Hoerner, Bregman, Crow-Armstrong, and Dansby Swanson are now all under contract for the next several years after 2026. It also helps that Michael Busch, Moises Ballesteros, and Cade Horton are all pre-arbitration players. If the Cubs get their way, they could be good for a very long time.