Hold Up: Hoerner Might NOT be able to be Called Up
Nico Hoerner and the Tennessee Smokies beat the Mississippi Braves 4-3 in Double-A Southern League play at Smokies Stadium in Kodak, Tennessee, on Saturday, April 6, 2019. (Photo by Danny Parker/MiLB.com)
Rules. All these friggin rules…
As we reported earlier, citing Paul Sullivan, the Chicago Cubs want to call-up the 2018 first-round pick, Nico Hoerner. With the hairline fracture to Javier Baez’s thumb, and with Addison Russell likely to miss a little time due to being hit in the head and suffering a nasal bruise and potentially other safety concerns, the Cubs thought they would tap Hoerner’s shoulders for a late September addition. But, MLB might not allow it.
The first obstacle is, since Hoerner isn’t on the 40-man roster, the Cubs would need to DFA a player for them to add Nico. But, the larger issue is, the Cubs will have to petition MLB to even have him be added.
Nico Hoerner not on 40 man roster . Cubs must DFA a player to add him . Since Hoerner was not on 40 man Aug 31 ,the Cubs would have to petition MLB to add Hoerner by wavier of rule under circumstantial roster issues . Not a for sure yes .
— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) September 9, 2019
So, because Hoerner wasn’t added to the MLB roster before August 31st, they will need to submit a waiver of the rule, which they would be citing the injuries to both Baez and Russell. The unfortunate can occur, as the Cubs have David Bote, Robel Garcia, and Ben Zobrist – all players that can play the SS position. Additionally, with the MLB Active List opening up to 40 players once the calendar flipped to September, MLB can deny due to the team seemingly having enough reserves at the big league level to properly fill the hole.
Ultimately, this very well could be left to the discretion of MLB rules committee and they very well can deny the move. Personally, I would believe MLB allows for the change to be made. Nico can be the next marketable young star on the Chicago Cubs. MLB is a better product when the Cubs are a better team. The seven remaining games between the Cubs and the St Louis Cardinals can also be a lot better if the Cubs have another young talent to talk about.
