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The Chicago Cubs are 0-9-1 in their last 10 series after getting walked off by the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night in Denver, dropping 1 1/2 out of a wild card spot and 8 1/2 back of the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central.
Things are burning down around us at this point. Sure, there's a lot of baseball left, but the Cubs just dropped back-to-back games against of the worst teams in the league and their latest injury updates, which go far beyond the lengthy loss of Jameson Taillon, just twist the knife.
Offseason signing Tyler Austin hasn't made much, if any, progress from knee surgery - and it remains to be seen if he even returns before the end of the year. Given the underwhelming performances of Phil Maton and Alex Bregman, and the critical injuries to Austin and Hunter Harvey, it's a damning indictment of Jed Hoyer's free agency performance last offseason.
It wasn't so long ago that Hoyer's winter looking like a masterclass. He locked in extensions with Pete Crow-Armstrong and Nico Hoerner and added important pieces to the pitching staff, not to mention landed his long-coveted free agent in Bregman. But as the Cubs have continued their free-fall, the disappointments grow larger than ever.
Cubs have no answers for mounting questions as season spirals
It's not even that Austin would have a clear-cut role right now. Everyday first baseman Michael Busch hasn't been part of the problem, posting an .848 OPS over the last month, but it doesn't negate from the fact that many of Hoyer's key free-agent signings haven't lived up to expectations.
Bregman went 0-for-2 with a pair of walks Wednesday, as the Cubs went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position against a lowly Rockies pitching staff. Maton didn't allow any runs in two-thirds of an inning, but still carries an ERA pushing 7.00 on the season. Harvey's injuries, which many expected when Hoyer inked him to a surprising $6 million deal.
The Austin news just adds insult to injury. Nothing is going according to plan right now and, frankly, there are no signs things will turn around anytime soon. The outlook is bleak in Wrigleyville.
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