{"id":87949,"date":"2024-10-21T15:12:49","date_gmt":"2024-10-21T19:12:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=87949"},"modified":"2024-10-21T15:12:49","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T19:12:49","slug":"nico-hoerner-successful-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/10\/21\/nico-hoerner-successful-surgery\/","title":{"rendered":"Flexor Tendon Surgery Sidelines Cubs Infielder for Offseason"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A nagging injury that impacted the second half of the season has led to a surgical solution for a key Chicago Cubs infielder. <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/M_Montemurro\/status\/1848429222420754437\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune<\/a> reported that second baseman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hoernni01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-10-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nico Hoerner<\/a> underwent right flexor tendon surgery on October 11, performed by Dr. Keith Meister. Hoerner should be ready to roll come Opening Day, although he may be eased into things this spring training.<\/p>\n<h2>Nico Hoerner Has Successful Flexor Tendon Surgery<\/h2>\n<p>Hoerner was lucky enough to not land on the injured list in 2024. He did, however, miss time with hamstring tightness in May and suffered a hand fracture from a hit-by-pitch in June. Hoerner did return to the lineup within a few days.<\/p>\n<div class=\"html-div xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd\" tabindex=\"-1\">\n<div class=\"x1yztbdb\"><span class=\"x1lliihq x1plvlek xryxfnj x1n2onr6 x1ji0vk5 x18bv5gf x193iq5w xeuugli x1fj9vlw x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xt4736n x1havqas x1f0sm9e x12qp5cl xzsf02u x1yc453h xudqn12 x3x7a5m\">Hoerner&#8217;s 2024 campaign saw him post a solid .273\/.335\/.373 slash line across 151 games for the Chicago Cubs. The Gold Glove winner demonstrated impressive all-around skills, hitting seven home runs and swiping 31 bases. <\/span>Notably, Hoerner refined his plate discipline, boasting a 6.9% walk rate and 10.3% strikeout rate. This represents a slight improvement over his 2023 numbers (7.1% walk rate, 12.1% strikeout rate), despite playing one fewer game.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"html-div xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd\" tabindex=\"-1\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"x1yztbdb\"><span class=\"x1lliihq x1plvlek xryxfnj x1n2onr6 x1ji0vk5 x18bv5gf x193iq5w xeuugli x1fj9vlw x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xt4736n x1havqas x1f0sm9e x12qp5cl xzsf02u x1yc453h xudqn12 x3x7a5m\">Nico Hoerner&#8217;s surgery sets the stage for a pivotal offseason for the Cubs, as they aim to rebound from two consecutive postseason absences. The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/06\/26\/cubs-playoff-hopes-dwindling\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">organization&#8217;s focus shifts<\/a> to bridging the gap between rebuild and contention, with several key roster needs to be addressed. <\/span>To take the next step, the Cubs will prioritize injecting power into their lineup and acquiring an impact starting pitcher. Additionally, bolstering catching and bullpen depth will be crucial.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"x1yztbdb\">After last offseason&#8217;s missteps in building organizational depth, this winter&#8217;s focus will be on constructing a more robust and resilient roster. The Cubs&#8217; 2025 aspirations hinge on a successful offseason. With Hoerner&#8217;s surgery marking the beginning, the team must address key needs and build depth. A rejuvenated roster will be crucial to ending their postseason drought. The coming months will shape the Cubs&#8217; future \u2013 and Hoerner&#8217;s eventual return will be a vital piece of the puzzle.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Main Photo: \u00a9 Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A nagging injury that impacted the second half of the season has led to a surgical solution for a key Chicago Cubs infielder. Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reported that second baseman Nico Hoerner underwent right flexor tendon surgery on October 11, performed by Dr. Keith Meister. Hoerner should be ready to roll come [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3686,"featured_media":87956,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1071,35],"tags":[2048],"class_list":["post-87949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cubs","category-mlb","category-news","tag-nico-hoerner"],"modified_by":"Matt Graves","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3686"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87949\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}