At the end of a summer Jed Hoyer called “unlike any season I’ve been through,” the Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations said the team’s late-season fade and postseason collapse were difficult to swallow.
asserted
fade → call → operations
“Ultimately, as we sit here today, it feels like we let something slip away,” Hoyer said Friday during his postseason media availability.
asserted
Hoyer → sit → availability
“That’s the hardest thing.
asserted
That → ’ → ?
I think these fans deserve home playoff games and we let it slip away in September, especially the last week.”
asserted
it → think → September
Long before a two-game postseason sweep at San Diego, the Cubs were within three games of the Brewers in the NL Central and in the first wild-card position on Aug. 12 but closed out the season 18-23, including a 2-5 record against the Brewers and a 2-4 finish that helped cost them home-field advantage.
asserted
that → close → advantage
Even with the best offense and arguably the best defense in baseball, injuries to starting pitchers, an erratic bullpen and hot-and-cold hitting all contributed to the Cubs’ inability to keep pace with the Brewers.
asserted
injuries → contribute → Brewers
The late fade was in keeping with a wild season that saw the Cubs post two 10-game winning streaks and a 10-game losing streak en route to 89 wins, the second-most for the franchise since 2018.
asserted
Cubs → see → 2018
The Cubs led MLB with 850 runs in the regular season, got the team’s first ever 40-40 season from presumptive MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong and enjoyed a red-hot finish by Alex Bregman after a painfully slow start — no one hit more home runs after July 27 than Bregman’s 18, out of his 28 on the season — but managed just one run on eight hits in the two losses at the Padres.
asserted
one → lead → Padres
“We have to work really hard to get back to that place,” Hoyer said.
asserted
Hoyer → have → place
“Obviously I think losses like this are really motivating, but in the moment, right now, I feel for the fans who supported this team so much because I feel like they deserved a long run this year.”
asserted
they → think → run
Projected rotation starters Kade Horton and Justin Steele both missed the entire season and Edward Cabrera and Matthew Boyd both spent time on the injured list.
asserted
Cabrera → project → list
Cabrera, a major offseason acquisition, had the worst season of his career when healthy.
asserted
Cabrera → have → career
The Cubs added starters Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes at the deadline, to no avail.
asserted
Cubs → add → avail
Only the A’s gave up more home runs in 2026 than the 231 the Cubs allowed and Hoyer acknowledged his team has done a better job developing hitters and position players than pitchers, to the point where it’s holding back the franchise.
asserted
it → give → franchise
“From a pitching standpoint this year, we sort of struggled from the get-go,” Hoyer said.
asserted
Hoyer → struggle → go
“Some of that was based on injuries to some guys we were really counting on, but some of it was based on poor performance.
asserted
some → base → performance
I think that’s something we need to look at.
asserted
we → think → ?
Right now, we are out of balance, and how do we balance that out?”
asserted
we → balance → that
The pitching struggles only underline the frustration at being unable to keep pace with the Brewers despite the Cubs’ advantage in resources and market size, even hiring manager Craig Counsell away from them ahead of the 2024 season.
asserted
struggles → underline → season
That’s hard to keep up with,” Counsell said ahead of the first of the seven late-season games against the Brewers.
asserted
Counsell → ’ → Brewers
“They’re having a fabulous season.
asserted
They → have → season
They’re a good team.
asserted
They → ’re → ?
I’m not surprised by that.
asserted
I → ’m → that
I’m not surprised at all.
asserted
I → ’m → ?
We’re a good team.
asserted
We → ’re → ?
I mean, we’re not a 100-win team.
asserted
we → mean → ?
We’re not going to be a hundred-win team this year.”
asserted
We → go → ?
Hoyer acknowledged that the Cubs have a financial advantage in the NL Central but argued that’s not necessarily true across the National League.
asserted
that → acknowledge → League
Still, the Brewers have set a standard the Cubs are failing to meet despite a $248 million payroll, the eighth largest in MLB, that’s nearly twice as large as Milwaukee’s.
asserted
that → set → Milwaukee
Changes are likely regardless, with 10 potential free agents, including popular outfielders Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ, going into an offseason when Hoyer said the heavy focus would be on improving the pitching staff.
asserted
focus → include → staff
“The team’s going to look and feel different next year,” Hoyer said.
asserted
Hoyer → go → ?
“In a lot of ways, that’s a good thing.”
asserted
that → ’ → ways
Hoyer said there were times during the season that he thought the Cubs were the best team in baseball, which led to the decision to try to bolster the rotation at the deadline.
asserted
which → say → deadline
“We believed in this group,” Hoyer said.
asserted
Hoyer → believe → group
“We think we have the best player in baseball.
asserted
we → think → baseball
We have an exceptional position playing group.
asserted
We → have → group
We believed in this group and we fell short.
asserted
we → believe → group
We let that opportunity slip away and that’s the part that will gnaw at us for a long time.”
asserted
that → let → time
The Aporia
