Jed Hoyer’s seat as president of baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs might be starting to get a little warm, especially after he pretty much committed the team to being sellers at the 2024 trade deadline (July 30) next week.
If it is not getting warm, it probably should be.
Hoyer said early this week that unless something dramatically changed over the next few days, the Cubs’ trade deadline approach would have them looking beyond 2024. That can not be seen as acceptable for Cubs ownership, especially given the amount of money that has been invested into this year’s roster.
The Cubs were one of the most active teams this offseason, spending almost $90M on player salaries and making the biggest managerial move in the league when they poached Craig Counsell away from a divisional rival in Milwaukee. The overall payroll ballooned up to $227M, giving them the seventh-highest payroll in the league. The results have not matched that investment.
The Cubs enter play on Tuesday in fourth place in the National League Central division, just a half game out of last place. They are also 3.5 games out of a wild-card spot with four teams standing between them and a playoff position.
Just to put that into perspective, they are one of just three teams in the top-10 in payroll that have a losing record this season (joining Toronto and Texas), and one of only three in the top-12. The only team in the top-12 of payroll with a lower winning percentage than the Cubs is the Blue Jays.
They are simply not getting what they are paying for, and it remains a very poorly constructed roster with some contracts that have not quite worked out.
The lineup is at the center of most of those struggles. The Cubs are 19th in runs scored in the majors, 25th in batting average, 14th in on-base percentage, 24th in slugging percentage and 22nd in OPS.
Shortstop Dansby Swanson was Hoyer’s big signing prior to the 2023 season, committing a seven-year, $177M contract with a full no-trade clause to him. Just a little more than a year-and-a-half into the deal it is looking like a massive disappointment as Swanson is already 30 years old and has barely been a league average hitter.
The one big move that did work out last season was Cody Bellinger, getting a bounce back year from him. That resulted in a three-year, $80M contract this offseason to remain with the Cubs. But he has not been able to recreate the magic he had a year ago and has seen his power drop with a .125 decrease in slugging percentage.
Between Swanson and Bellinger that is a lot of money tied up in players that might have already played their best baseball.
Combine that with the disappointing results, the weak offense and the expensive price tag that is a brutal combination for any front office. Also a difficult combination to get another chance with.
