Did the Cubs' front office dropping the ball at the deadline cause this recent slide?

We are all aware of what happened at the 2025 trade deadline. The Chicago Cubs front office made a handful of smaller moves to improve the roster marginally, but they fell short of acquiring an impact starting pitcher or closer.

This was a failure on the front office's part because the team is essentially outgunned in the starting pitching department in a hypothetical playoff series. Nearly every team in the National League has three reliable starting pitchers that give the opposing team an edge against the Cubs, who are relying on luck. They're relying on Matthew Boyd to continue pitching like an ace into the playoffs, which is a big 'if' considering his lengthy injury history.

Jed Hoyer and company are also banking on Jameson Taillon returning to form and Cade Horton being able to pitch in the postseason. This is a rotation with a lot of vulnerabilities, and a reliable starting pitcher added to the mix would have strengthened those vulnerabilities. But beyond that, the front office trading for another ace would have given the team a shot of adrenaline when they needed it most.

The deadline failure goes beyond how the roster looks on paper

Since the All-Star break, the Cubs have surrendered first place in the National League Central to a surging Milwaukee Brewers roster, who own the best record in Major League Baseball. As of August 11, the Brewers have surged to a six-and-a-half game advantage in the NL Central, fueled by a 10-game winning streak, their second such streak of the season.

Meanwhile, the Cubs are free-falling. From the All-Star break through their series loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, the Cubs have scored just 82 runs (26th in the league in that timeframe). The Chicago bullpen has also struggled mightily, with a collective 5.40 ERA over 76.2 innings since the All-Star break.

Trading for a starter wouldn't have solved all these problems, but there's something to be said about putting faith in your team. In fact, Anthony Rizzo made this exact point in a recent interview on Johnny Manziel's podcast. When the Cubs were humming in 2016, Rizzo said the team felt even more unstoppable when the front office went all-in on the Aroldis Chapman trade.

It's abundantly clear that the 2025 Cubs didn't get that kind of morale boost this year, and it's not hard to see why. After the first half that the Cubs had, where they were a top-five producing offense in the league, I don't blame anyone for being ticked off at Hoyer and the front office. Even if the price for a pitcher was astronomical, the Cubs had a wealth of prospects and lesser starting pitchers to negotiate with, and he failed. He failed to instill confidence in his team and put them in the best position to continue to succeed.

Ultimately, Hoyer's shot-calling at the trade deadline is partially to blame for the Cubs' recent skid, and it seems likely to extend their streak to five straight seasons without a division title.