Former Cubs' free agent dud takes direct shot at Jed Hoyer's front office

Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer is meeting with reporters on Tuesday to discuss another season where the Cubs won 83 games but failed to qualify for the postseason.

Prior to Hoyer giving his State of the Cubs' address at the end of the season, the team began making changes to Craig Counsell's coaching staff on Monday night. Among the surprising changes that were made was the dismissal of first base coach Mike Napoli.

The removal of Napoli from the Cubs' coaching staff was a surprising move. By most assumptions, Napolis was the one coach believed to be safe among the imminent changes that Counsell was going to make this offseason.

Among those surprised by the news was former Cubs' free agent bust, Eric Hosmer.

Mike Napoli's firing has one former Cubs' player questioning the front office.

Napoli had become a favorite among players on the Cubs' roster so it's no surprise to see Hosmer be critical of the move. But in a reply, Hosmer seemed to take a more targeted shot at the Cubs' front office.

With that reply, Hosmer seems to endorse Hoyer as still being the right man to lead the Cubs' front office but questions those who Hoyer may have surrounded himself with. With a reply like the one Hosmer had, one assumption may be that former All-Star first baseman is referring to general manager Carter Hawkins.

The biggest issue with the pairing of Hoyer and Hawkins is that they have the same approach. What made the union between Theo Epstein and Hoyer work is that there was balance. Epstein was often aggressive in his attempts to improve the Cubs' roster, while Hoyer had a cautious approach. When Hoyer was elevated to Epstein's role after the 2020 season, he didn't look for someone who was different than him to serve as the team's general manager. Instead, Hoyer hired someone who reflects the same person that he sees in the mirror.

That is not the sole reason why the Cubs have failed to reach the postseason in 2023 and 2024 but when the main problem of the team has been roster construction, the Hoyer and Hawkins pairing may be one that is hurting the team more than it is helping.