(670 The Score) A decade ago when the Cubs were in the first year of a painful rebuild that ultimately resulted in a run of success, there was great patience afforded from Chicago. The hope was that then-president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and then-general manager Jed Hoyer could produce a World Series championship, which came in 2016.
There's a different dynamic for the club now. The Cubs are an organization in transition after trading away key players from their championship core last summer. Now the team's president of baseball operations, Hoyer hasn’t declared a full-fledged rebuild for the Cubs but also has admitted that keeping an eye on the future is the priority.
That lack of clarity for the Cubs’ future has led to wonder over when the franchise will enjoy sustained success and compete at the highest level again. With that in mind, Hoyer made it clear on the Parkins & Spiegel Show on Wednesday afternoon that the Cubs won't force anything in assessing their competitive window while balancing the present and future.
“It’s important to always be tethered to reality,” Hoyer said. “I think one of the things in this game that’s super important is understanding where you are competitively, where you project. Hope isn’t a business model. You have to be tethered to numbers and know, ‘OK, this is the quality of our team right now. If we spend money on these players, this is where we’ll be.’ I mean, those are things you’re not going to share all the time, exactly where we project ourselves. But it’s incredibly important.”
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After trading first baseman Anthony Rizzo, third baseman Kris Bryant, shortstop Javier Baez and other key players before the trade deadline last July, the Cubs signed veteran right-hander Marcus Stroman and Japanese star outfielder Seiya Suzuki as their key additions this offseason.
The Cubs (15-20) have won four straight games and entered Wednesday in third place in the NL Central amid a season that has featured inconsistent play collectively.
“I do think that our fan base’s expectations have changed based on the success we had,” Hoyer said. “I think that’s a wonderful thing. We shouldn’t fight against that. We should accept that.”
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