The New York Yankees might have a sizable roster hole to fill this winter.
Absent such a contract, other key players may be lost, too. Perhaps most prominent on that list after Soto is second baseman Gleyber Torres, who has made two All-Star games in his seven seasons with the Yankees but might accept a new contract to play elsewhere in 2025.
projecting the Yankees’ “ideal offseason” for The Athletic, Chris Kirschner traded a one-for–one deal with the Chicago Cubs that would provide a replacement for Torres offloaded in his last year of arbitration eligibility.
“The Yankees need a second basemen with Gleyber Torres a free agent,” Kirschner said. Starting pitching is a want of The Chicago Cubs. Can the teams work out a one-for-one trade with the Yankees getting infielder Nico Hoerner? Next year Hoerner is due $11.67 million; Cortes will earn $7.7 million in arbitration. Cortes’s last season before free agency is next year; Hoerner has another season left on his contract before hitting free agency after the 2026 season.
Looking at the deal through the prism of the Cubs’ financials, they might find motivation to trade away Hoerner for Cortes in order to free up some payroll space. Cortes has been an All-Star and could be an excellent back-of-the-rotation option for the Cubs in 2025, even if he threw a 3.77 ERA in 2024 and gave up a game-winning grand slam in his one World Series relief visit.
And Hoerner represents a notable improvement over Torres for the Yankees.
“Hoerner would provide the Yankees far better defense and base running at second base than Torres supplied,” Kirschner said. “The Yankees wish to raise basics.”
Hoerner led the Cubs in hits for the 2024 season and slashed, however he might not have the same pop at the plate as Torres.273/.335/.373 for the year while Torres cut.257/.330/.348.
Should Torres leave without a prominent on-field replacement, the Yankees likely will tab prospect Caleb Durbin as the every-day second baseman. Hoerner would be a far more established choice with a Gold Glove Award and a .981 career fielding percentage over six big-league seasons.