Jed Hoyer not ' feeling super comfortable' as his Cubs prepare to sell yet again

The clock is ticking and there's already been some movement around the league leading up to Tuesday's MLB trade deadline. Left-hander AJ Puk is headed to Arizona and fan favorite Randy Arozarena is going from Tampa Bay to Seattle in a move the Mariners hope will bolster their offense.

The Cubs picked up a minor-league outfielder from the Pirates on Thursday, but none of their major dominoes have yet fallen. What's clear is that the team will sell in hopes of being back in contention in 2025. That 'wait till next year' mentality is on the mind of Cubs fans everywhere and it was a topic on the latest episode of the North Side Territory podcast.

Cubs beat writer Patrick Mooney fielded questions from fans - and the first one is one many of us have pondered: “Do you think that the old slogan, there's always next year, is something that helps Jed and company sleep at night?”

It's a fair question. Hoyer's tenure has been marked by mediocrity and a promise of a brighter future, one that is yet to take shape at the big-league level. 2025 marks the final year of his contract with the organization and he's yet to produce a winner. According to Mooney, Hoyer and his front office are very well aware of this fact after the team dramatically underperformed again this year.

Within baseball operations, though, I would not characterize Jet Hoyer as feeling super comfortable right now. I know what you may see on Marquee and kind of the patience and the rationality that he shows on camera. That is just part of his job, that he has to project calm, that he has to look at the long view and take all of those things into account.

Is this the winter the Cubs finally act like a large-market team?

Mooney went on to say he would be 'surprised' if Tom Ricketts parted ways with Hoyer because the simple truth is this is exactly how they want a roster to be built: in a cost-conscious manner, centered around a steady pipeline of young pitching and 'logical' free agent signings. The problem with this approach is painfully clear this year, with Chicago sorely lacking the type of impact players that can help a team turn a game - or a cold stretch - around with big plays, especially on offense.

To that end, Mooney opined that this winter, in particular, Hoyer and the front office is going to really feel the pressure to step way outside their comfort zone and add some big-time names to this roster. The question, then, becomes: will they be granted the financial resources to do so? This team has treated the first CBT threshold as a sort of soft salary cap in recent years and there are no signs that's about to change.

So, Hoyer is feeling the heat. And he should. But now we have to see what he does heading into a lame-duck year: will he stick to his value-centric, methodical approach that has, as of yet, failed to produce results? Or will he swim in the deep end of the pool, where other big market teams have thrived and left the Cubs begging for scraps.