Making Sense of Guardians, Cubs Odd Trade Rumor

Apparently, the Cleveland Guardians and Chicago Cubs held some rather odd trade discussions that are worth examining.

Sep 25, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Chicago Cubs infielder Nico Hoerner (2) fields a ground ball against the Philadelphia Phillies in the fifth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images / Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Guardians were very active at the MLB trade deadline back in July, acquiring outfielder Lane Thomas and starting pitcher Alex Cobb in separate deals.

But apparently, they almost landed another player: Chicago Cubs infielder Nico Hoerner.

Jacob Zanolla of Ivy League Cubs recently wrote that the Guardians and Cubs engaged in trade discussions for Hoerner several months ago.

"The Cubs were reportedly discussing a deal with the Cleveland Guardians that would have sent Nico Hoerner to Cleveland for a top prospect," Zanolla wrote. "The Guardians' number two prospect Chase DeLauter was one name mentioned in a possible return to Chicago, although I’m not sure how serious talks were when he was mentioned."

Cleveland has Andres Gimenez and Brayan Rocchio up the middle of the infield, and given how valuable Gimenez has been to the Guardians, you have to figure that Rocchio—who was struggling mightily midseason—was likely the player Cleveland was aiming to upgrade.

Hoerner is under contract through 2026, so the Guardians would have at least had him for the next couple of seasons with No. 1 pick Travis Bazzana in the pipeline.

Perhaps Cleveland was just aiming to upgrade Rocchio for the relatively short-term future until Bazzana was ready to hit the big leagues?

It's certainly a strange rumor. While the Guardians were seeking bats at the deadline and were mentioned as a possible landing spot for a shortstop, they never seemed to be working that aggressively to acquire one. Outfield was obviously the club's biggest need as far as position players were concerned, which is why Cleveland swung a deal for Thomas.

Hoerner's bat is certainly better than Rocchio's. He slashed .273/.335/.373 with seven home runs and 48 RBI this season, and in 2023, he registered a .729 OPS. He added a Gold Glove to boot.

But would the Guardians really have wanted to give up DeLauter for Hoerner?

Hoerner was a 3.9 WAR player this season and registered WARs north of 4 the previous two campaigns, sure. Still, DeLauter seems like a rather steep price to pay, and Hoerner would not have bolstered Cleveland's offense that much.

Perhaps the Guardians will revisit trade talks with the Cubs this offseason. Or maybe the whole Hoerner-to-Cleveland rumor was nothing more than a five-minute phone call where the two clubs exchange names and then hung up. Who knows?

Whatever the case may be, it's certainly an odd rumor.