When you watch the Milwaukee Brewers put a 12 spot up in the first inning over two games, it doesn’t seem like the Chicago Cubs are going in the right direction. Heck, who knows if Jed Hoyer blowing up the roster will result in a championship or championships, but when you look at the long-term health of the organization, its starting to feel right.
I absolutely hate the fact that the Cubs moved Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez to New York. I despise the fact that Kris Bryant is having a blast playing in San Francisco. These are dudes that should have been wearing Cubbie blue for a very long time, but, they’re not. For whatever reason extensions didn’t work out, which I’m certain the reasonings are closer to the players explanations that Hoyer’s. If the Cubs weren’t going to meet current asking prices, then July 30th had to happen. It had to happen.
As more and more fans start to come out of the mourning process, we realize Jed did pretty that sad Friday afternoon. Sure, no player received will be as impactful as any they sent away, the value is there and with some careful additions, the Cubs can be fun again soon.
Hoyer took a very pointed approach to the trade deadline and were looking for a very specific set of skills. They targeted high-ceiling pitching and contract hitting, and added several players that fit that mold. With so much emphasis on power and driving the ball in the air, Hoyer bucked the trend with guys like Nick Madrigal and Peter Crow-Arnstrong. We’ve seen and heard for too long that the Cub’s lineup is far too one-dimensional, this was an effort to change that.
The one area I really fear is, did the Cubs go too far the other direction?
Like, look… I loved Mark Grace, but eight Gracie’s in a lineup would become far too predictable too. A good lineup needs all sorts of hitters. That guy that makes every at bat hard, works counts, finds a way on-base. They need that guy that pushed the ball all over the diamond, puts balls in play, and puts pressure on a defense. They also need that power bat that in 0-0 or 0-2 can put a ball 450 feet into the stands.
Without all of them, a lineup isn’t effective.
Luckily for the Cubs, there are those power bats available on the market the next few seasons. With a payroll that will rank in the bottom third (before off-season moves), the Cubs can make a ton of moves to improve the next three-to-four seasons.
What’s more impressive is the layered approach the Cubs can take towards their roster over the next several years. With talent already getting called up, they can call up a potentially impactful prospect in each of the next six seasons. They also have the ability to move a prospect or two each of those years to supplement the roster as well.
That’s not a bad thing!
Imagine a Cubs team five years from now with Brennen Davis in left, Crow-Arnstrong in center, Greg Deichmann or Alexander Canario in right. Then maybe Patrick Wisdom as the grizzled veteran at third, Cristian Hernandez at short, Ed Howard as his double-play partner at second. A pitching a staff built of mostly internal guys and a the Cubs only needing to spend on a couple spots here and there?
I don’t know if the Cubs farm has the superstar potential it didn in 2013-16, but it does have the ability to sustain. That’s a business model that can be efficient and effective. Could they replicate what the San Francisco Giants were able to do in the early 2010’s?
Sustainability seems to be the best path to long success in MLB. The Cubs between 2015 and 2020 were able to compete, but a six year stretch was tarnished by only one championship. While it is hard as heck to win in baseball, there will be many around baseball that sees that previous group of Cubs players as a bit of a letdown. Maybe, just maybe what Hoyer is cooking will have a lasting and more successful era.
