Bleacher Report’s Dodgers-Nico Hoerner trade package is great (but unlikely)

If the 2026 Los Angeles Dodgers have a hole anywhere on the roster, it's at second base. Hyeseong Kim figures to be the Opening Day starter there, though Miguel Rojas and Andy Ibáñez should factor into the equation as well (as will Tommy Edman, whenever he returns from ankle surgery).

Kim didn't have the strongest rookie campaign after coming over from the KBO — he hit .280/.314/.385, good for a 95 wRC+ — but he should be capable of holding the fort while the Dodgers deploy the rest of their superhuman lineup to maul opponents.

But this isn't a time for modesty! The reigning back-to-back champions have leaned into gluttony this offseason, enraging all 29 other fanbases by picking up Edwin Díaz and Kyle Tucker on record-setting contracts. If there's any team that isn't going to settle at a given position, it's the Dodgers.

Luckily, the trade market is rife with talent at the keystone, including the Arizona Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte (never going to happen) and the St. Louis Cardinals' Brendan Donovan (more likely, but will cost a fortune in prospect capital). If Los Angeles finds itself looking for a shorter-term option that won't cost as much, though, Nico Hoerner of the Chicago Cubs stands out as the perfect fit.

Dodgers should pursue Nico Hoerner, but not at proposed price of Mike Sirota

Would the Cubs — one of the other teams that fancies themselves as premier contenders in the National League after signing Alex Bregman — really trade one of their most valuable and longest-tenured members to the most-hated team in sports?

Well, if Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller has anything to say about it, then yes.

The B/R scribe laid out a one-for-one deal between the Dodgers and Cubs, sending Hoerner to L.A. and top prospect Mike Sirota back to Chicago. The logic is sound from both sides, and it's sort of a redux of the 2024 trade that put Michael Busch in the Windy City and brought top prospects Zyhir Hope and Jackson Ferris back to Hollywood.

The problem is that Hoerner, 28, has just one year left on his contract before he reaches free agency. He may be an excellent player — he won a Gold Glove and was a Silver Slugger finalist last year — but rental players, especially position players, just aren't worth a pot of gold.

And that's what Sirota is. He's one of the best outfield prospects in the sport, having hit .333/.452/.616 with a 17.8% walk rate in 2025. His 189 wRC+ and 32 extra-base hits are jaw-dropping in the context of the 52-game season he played. The sky is the limit for him, so long as he stays healthy.

It's true that the 22-year-old may be expendable thanks to the presence of Hope (and Josue De Paula and Eduardo Quintero), but that doesn't mean the Dodgers should fork him over for a rental not named Tarik Skubal. A pursuit of Hoerner absolutely makes sense, but not at the cost of Sirota.