Cubs aren’t giving me anything at all to be excited about right now

Cubs offseason to-date? Subtraction, subtraction, subtraction

Among many questions Jed Hoyer will have to answer as the new man in charge is pretty huge: what’s the real goal for the 2021 team? If he says to win a World Series, someone should tell him that the Dodgers are a lot better than the Cubs right now and he should start making some moves pronto.

I can admit that I wasn’t a fan of the non-tendering of Schwarber earlier this month, but if the club feels they can do better with a different or cheaper player after the terrible month of September the big lefty had, I can at least acknowledge that it’s a practical decision. If it was done for purely pecuniary reasons, then there is no leg to stand on in any “we’re trying to win argument.”

Losing Lester is something most expected anyhow, as the 36-year-old is now in the twilight of his career as a big league starter. However, if money were no issue, wouldn’t they bring back a guy who could have a tremendous impact on some of the young arms expected to arrive at Wrigley in the next couple years?

Isn’t a guy who had seven good starts, two mediocre ones, and three terrible starts in a crazy shortened half season worth bringing back as a fifth guy in the rotation? Especially given his pedigree and what he’s done for the organization?

Cubs rumors will run rampant for pretty much the next year

In addition to those the Cubs have already let go or lost, there’s also the persistent trade rumors regarding Kris Bryant, Willson Contreras, and now even Yu Darvish. No one could possibly convince me the Cubs would be a better ballclub in 2021 by trading away Darvish or Contreras. It would also be hard to do so about the former MVP Bryant if he is healthy this coming season.

Perhaps Chicago is trying to trade off some high-priced pieces to try and reload for a new window of contention, but if that’s the case, they’re better off getting rid of pretty much everyone and doing a full rebuild.

And, seeing as that’s the trend of where we’re going with the Cubs so far this offseason (and the fact we haven’t signed any noteworthy position players since Jason Heyward in 2015), I’m not excited for that. I don’t want a rebuild. Not that I wanted to run it back with the exact same club from 2020, but why aren’t the Cubs keeping their core intact and adding other pieces to complement it?

If they don’t believe in the core, then get rid of them and tear it down. There can’t be this vacillating though as it’s gotten exhausting for fans. Act like a big-market perennial winner, or just let your fans know there’s a new process to get behind and get excited about.

If the trades or dumps start happening, I guess we’ll have our very obvious answer from Hoyer, and to be honest, I can get behind that more than going halfway. Right now though, the lack of excitement is palpable from Cubs fans and it won’t pick up or change until the club starts making some more tough decisions.