Cubs fans will hate Jed Hoyer's defense of Carter Hawkins' deadline comments

The essence of what Chicago Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins said in the immediate wake of a quieter-than-expected trade deadline for his team was completely fair. Organizations constantly weigh the short-term and long-term impacts of free agent signings, trades, and other roster moves - swinging too far in either direction can cause problems that can quickly escalate.

“Teams are trying to find that guy that can lock down the eighth or ninth inning but that also costs a lot. That costs a lot of future wins. We have a responsibility to the 2025 Cubs but also the 2032 Cubs. That’s not always popular in the moment, but it’s decisions we have to make.”

In a season defined by the Cubs' offseason pushing in of the chips in the Kyle Tucker trade and the Cody Bellinger salary dump, fans aren't focused on 2032. They're focused on 2025 and making the most of what could very well be Tucker's only season in Chicago. The four-time All-Star hits free agency at season's end and, even with his recent slump, is expected to command a deal well above the largest the Cubs have ever handed out.

So getting told the team didn't go get that top-of-the-rotation ace or back-end, late-inning arm because they're focused on the long-term impacts didn't land well with most of the fanbase. They viewed 2025 as an opportunity, ripe for the taking, and watching other top NL contenders like the Phillies and Mets stock up on bullpen arms only added insult to injury.

Jed Hoyer backs up his GM, shows no signs of changing his approach

President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer held court with the media this week at Wrigley Field, covering a number of topics, but Hawkins' comments came up as part of it. Here's what he said in defense of his GM.

“I think putting a year on it was something that people reacted to,” Hoyer said. “But I think the reality of this chair is that you’re trying to balance something that is very hard to balance. And I think that’s the challenge — it’s the urgency to win now. It’s also the realization that the players that are being asked about are impacting us right now. They’re impacting us next year."

It hasn't been the rotation that's put the Cubs on their heels since the All-Star break. It's been a team-wide offensive downturn that ultimately led to Tucker being benched in the middle of the biggest series of the season and multiple moments of visible frustration for top performers like Pete Crow-Armstrong.

A major area of concern heading into last month's deadline, third base, has, all of a sudden, become a major strength, with rookie Matt Shaw turning the corner in the second half. The former first-rounder is slashing .295/.325/.692 in two dozen games since the break, buoying the team as others look to regain the form at the plate.

“What I say all the time is it’s my job to keep one eye on the present and one eye on the future,” Hoyer said. “… The nature of these sports is that young players are sort of the lifeblood of what we’re doing. Young players improve quickly. Young players can outperform expectations. I think there’s always instant gratification of a certain deal. But to make any of the really, super impactful deals at a deadline that we were asked to make, it wasn’t going to be one of those guys, it was going to be multiple of those guys that were currently performing for us right now. That’s the nature of these jobs.

Again, Hoyer isn't wrong - and neither was Hawkins. But that long-term outlook has to be weighed against the opportunity at hand each year. And given Hoyer's approach has yielded zero NL Central titles or even a postseason appearance in the last five years, I think most agree with the thinking that he could afford to tilt the scales a little more toward the aggressive side of the equation at this point.