This Cubs scapegoat is emerging fast as the team keeps unraveling

For circumstances of their choosing, the Chicago Cubs' decision to reveal Jed Hoyer's contract extension before the MLB trade deadline suddenly looks like a terrible decision. To be clear, Hoyer being extended after this season was always the most likely outcome, but the immediate aftermath of the deal being reported makes it seem like the goal of the 2025 season has suddenly changed.

In the days since Hoyer's new contract was revealed, the Cubs have gone from being the best team in baseball, in control of their postseason fate while at the top of the National League Central, to entering Wednesday four games back of the Milwaukee Brewers in the division. It may no longer be a question of can the Cubs catch up to the Brewers; it may be a question of will the Brewers will remain in sight of the Cubs.

Even with it looking like the Brewers will play themselves out of the reach of the Cubs, the North Siders still have a comfortable path toward a postseason berth through the National League Wild Card. Even in saying that, it's confirmation that the Cubs have switched the goal of the 2025 season. The Cubs no longer are good enough to win the division, and despite signs of that being the case BEFORE the deadline, Hoyer, backed by his new contract, made the worst trade in his tenure as the Cubs' President of Baseball Operations.

This unlikely scapegoat is now in the crosshairs as Cubs spiral

The question becomes, what changes if the 2025 season becomes a failure? Something that now appears to be the most likely outcome as the Cubs head straight toward being one-and-done in October. Hoyer isn't going anywhere, and neither is Craig Counsell.

That leaves only one person, and, honestly, it's mostly because Hoyer won't fire himself. Reporting before the season was that Carter Hawkins' contract as general manager of the Cubs was also up at the end of the season. When Hoyer's new deal was reported, there wasn't an update provided on Hawkins' status. The assumption is that his contract is still up.

If that is the case, then Hawkins needs to become the scapegoat of 2025. Sure, it may not be deserving, but a front office combination of two passive executives is not the recipe for success in Major League Baseball at this time. Hoyer needs a general manager who will balance out his conservative nature with a level of aggressiveness the Cubs' front office hasn't had since the Theo Epstein era. Hawkins is not that general manager.

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