Latest Jed Hoyer comments help Cubs fans avoid high expectations for offseason

The Chicago Cubs' season took another southbound turn on Saturday afternoon. Up 4-1 over the St. Louis Cardinals going into the eighth inning — a chance to sweep on the line — Chicago fell apart with a series of inexplicable mistakes compounded by the boneheaded decision-making of Craig Counsell.

A true comedy of errors, the story of the Cubs' season. Counsell has done very little to convince fans after claiming the highest managerial salary in league history. His strengths in Milwaukee (bullpen management, matchups. etc.) are suddenly weaknesses in Chicago. On Saturday, he pinch hit Patrick Wisdom for Michael Busch down the stretch when Busch was 2-for-3 with a home run. He pitched Hector Neris in back-to-back ninth innings and suffered a last-second loss on the second night. These are avoidable pitfalls.

More than Counsell, however, the Cubs' struggles can be attributed to the general state of the roster. Jed Hoyer and the front office haven't done nearly enough to build up the Cubs offense. That Dansby Swanson contract aged like milk, which is unfortunate. Chicago isn't a team to splurge on expensive free agents. When one tanks, well, that doesn't encourage the front office to make another high-dollar bet.

The latest comments from Hoyer are sure to send the fanbase into a soporific daze. Rather than pitching bold ideas for the Cubs future, Hoyer is setting the stage for another underwhelming free agent period in which Chicago sidesteps risk and embraces only what the front office deems "safe."

"I would not say that I’m fundamentally opposed to [a big contract]. I think with any deal like that, there’s a lot of risk. And I think that obviously, at some level, you’re paying – with any of those deals – you’re assuming that when you sign that player in free agency, there’s an awareness that most likely the end of that deal is going to be highly inefficient and that you really have to gain the efficiency early in that deal. So yeah, I think there’s of course a lot of risk in that. I’m not fundamentally opposed to it. I do think that I’m probably more risk-averse on those kinds of deals. Those are the deals you sign the … truly elite. I think there’s obviously a lot of risk in them. But fundamentally, are there players in this league that I think are definitely worth it? Absolutely.”

Apologies for that snoring you hear in the distance. That's half of Chicago trying to channel Jed Hoyer in their day-to-day lives.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, and join the discord to get the inside scoop between now and the MLB offseason.

Jed Hoyer sets the stage for another lackluster Cubs offseason

Okay, jokes aside, Jed Hoyer makes valid points. Major, long-term contracts almost never age perfectly. The value at the beginning of that contract is hardly ever the same as the value at the end of it. Take, for example, Mike Trout. Or late-career Alex Pujols. Hell, Dansby Swanson. It is what it is.

That said, the best front offices are able to avoid stumbling into dead weight (see: Javy Baez, Detroit Tigers) and hit on the important big-money options. The Los Angeles Dodgers' roster is stupid expensive. All those key pieces are performing. Credit to Hoyer, who has avoided big deals for Baez and Kris Bryant over the years. By that same token, though, Chicago was never seriously involved with Shohei Ohanti or Aaron Judge. Not Trea Turner. Not even Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery. The true heavyweights never seem to gravitate toward the Cubs.

That is a shame when one considers the size of the Chicago market and the history tied to the Cubs franchise. That should be a destination. Hoyer hans't completely avoided expensive contracts — as evidenced by Cody Bellinger, not to mention Swanson — but Chicago just does not punch in the MLB's highest weight class. Hoyer is a free agent bottom-feeder. He prefers to sit below the surface and feed on the leftovers, rather than chasing the big fish himself.

It is what it is at this point. The Cubs probably aren't shaking the current management setup, so it's best to temper expectations and look ahead with the current roster in mind. Isaac Paredes was a true impact addition. The sort Hoyer deserves credit for making. He has the Cubs set up for a better 2025, but there's still so much undecided about the future.

Assuming the Cubs don't come with a godfather offer for Juan Soto, we can probably rule out the true blockbusters. Instead, Chicago will be maneuvering around the margins, hoping for the right name to slip through the cracks and banking on a better season at the reins for Counsell, who clearly isn't 100 percent comfortable with his new situation yet.