The Chicago Cubs saw a path to their dream offseason, and for the first time in a while, they took it. The last thing anyone should want them to do is something silly like trading Nico Hoerner.

This front office had eyed starting pitcher Edward Cabrera since at least the last trade deadline, and last week it finally pulled off the move to get him. The Cubs have been enamored with Alex Bregman for over a year now. On an epic Saturday evening in Chicago sports, they stepped up and outbid the competition to bring Bregman in on a five-year, $175 million deal (a deal that’s around $30-31 million in AAV with deferrals).

Chicago sports fans are buzzing about their Bears and their Cubs. The only way to deflate them would be if the front office traded Hoerner. It doesn’t matter if it would give the team more financial flexibility under the first luxury tax threshold — according to Roster Resource, the Cubs are less than $1 million below that $244 million mark. That Hoerner has a year left on his deal shouldn’t be a big factor.

None of these supposed issues should impede a team that, on paper at least, appears to be a legitimate contender once again. Trading Hoerner, a team leader, elite defender and above-average offensive player, would be antithetical to the ultimate goal of winning.

There are no indications that the Cubs are looking to move Hoerner, but other teams have come calling, and this organization won’t hang up when others ring. The Cubs will listen, and if they’re blown away, they may decide it’s the right thing to do.

But a win-now team should want nothing more than to keep Hoerner. By WAR, he led all second basemen with 4.8 (FanGraphs). Baseball-Reference (6.2) was even more bullish on Hoerner, ranking him fourth for all National League position players in the metric. Hoerner has won two Gold Gloves, garnered down-ballot MVP votes last season, competed for a batting title and is fifth in stolen bases (123) over the last four seasons combined.

Hoerner also brings an intangible quality. A front office that is model-heavy still clearly values that aspect of the game. It was a big reason the Cubs brought in Justin Turner last spring and a quality that attracted them to Bregman.

“Nico’s great at some things I think other people think they’re good at and they’re not as good at it,” manager Craig Counsell said in December at the Winter Meetings. “I’m not talking about just players, I’m talking about people. When you say show up every day and complete every rep, every rep is completed perfectly. That’s who Nico is. That seems like that’s easy, ‘Everybody can do that, I do that.’ Well, you don’t do it. I would put Nico at the top of the list for how he does that.

“In a sport like baseball with so many games and so many moments, it shows up a lot. It’s a great trait to have and it’s what made Nico a very, very good baseball player.”

Moving Hoerner could help the Cubs replenish a farm system that’s seen some drain over the last year-plus. It would remove nearly $12 million of salary from the payroll. These would be the reasons to make that move. But the clubhouse would feel his absence, and his teammates would likely voice their displeasure, even if they understand this is a business. And it would hurt the team in the most important category: the win column.