Jed Hoyer’s outdated vision for 2026 Cubs is unraveling in painful fashion

Pitching and run prevention were meant to be the two pillars of Jed Hoyer's vision for the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs' defense has certainly lived up to the run prevention strategy, but pitching continues to be the area holding the organization back. Injuries this season have certainly added to that reality for Hoyer and Co., but there's been some glaring misses for the front office.

Entering his start against the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night, Colin Rea led the Cubs in innings pitched this season. That's not exactly the plan the Cubs had at the start of the season, and does speak to the injuries thinning out the team's pitching depth.

The problem is that Hoyer's need to find depth last offseason may have ignored the elephant in the room. It was made clear by the end of the 2025 season that the Cubs didn't have a defined ace. Entering the 2026 season, it's fair to suggest that was still case.

Cade Horton certainly looked like an ace when he was healthy last season, but his injury track record couldn't be overlooked. Edward Cabrera's numbers weren't what one would expect from a top-of-the-rotation pitcher, but the Cubs were hopeful their pitching infrastructure could unlock that version upon his arrival in Chicago.

Horton isn't returning to the rotation anytime soon, and Cabrera has been bad this season. Considering how the rest of the rotation was constructed, it's put the Cubs in a position where pitching has become their biggest weakness.

Cubs' pitching plan needs to be reimagined

Injuries certainly can't be accounted for but if any Cubs fan wants to be honest, the Cubs haven't been strong with pitching development for quite some time. Yes, drafting is certainly a part of the problem, but the front office has refused to go to the top of the market to address their need in the rotation.

They bowed out of the bidding for Dylan Cease and Max Fried in recent winters when the bidding got too rich for the them, and that's just an inexcusable misstep for the organization. Hoyer's front office has proved one thing, and it is that they can't develop pitching adequately. If that is the reality the Cubs are going to be living in, then they need to live at the top of the market when they search for pitching.

Unfinished products can't be how the Cubs go about constructing their pitching staff, because the 2026 season is proving just how wrong that approach was.

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