This ex-GM quote sums up everything wrong with Cubs’ deadline

The optics of Jed Hoyer's contract extension aren't great considering how the MLB trade deadline unfolded for the Chicago Cubs. Expected to be one of the more aggressive teams at the deadline, the Cubs ultimately decided to hold onto all of their top prospects as they made several moves around the biggest void that currently still exists on their roster: another top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher.

The defense form Hoyer has been that the Cubs maintain an approach that allows them to be good every season instead of being great for one season. It's not exactly the tone that Hoyer had last December when he parted with Cam Smith, Isaac Paredes, and Hayden Wesneski for one season of Kyle Tucker. Entering the final year of his contract as the Cubs' President of Baseball Operations, Hoyer's decision to trade for Tucker signaled a level of urgency that he's never had for a singular season before.

So what changed from last December to the days leading into the deadline, the Cubs removed the urgency from Hoyer's job status, giving him a multi-year extension. Most Cubs' conspiracies deserve to be ignored but in this case, the team left the door cracked open to suggest Hoyer's extension may have played a factor in the moves they refused to make at the deadline.

Cubs’ deadline regrets just got a big confirmation from former GM

That is why it feels like there is a hidden meaning in how Jim Bowden described the moves made by the Cubs last week during his latest piece for The Athletic.

"The Cubs were smart to extend the contract of president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer. It was well-deserved and long overdue. However, as much as I like the Cubs’ acquisitions of reliever Andrew Kittredge and utilityman Willi Castro, they didn’t make a more significant trade, which I think was needed to best the Brewers in the NL Central race."

In other words, the biggest move the Cubs made last week was extending their top executive, and the lack of an impact move on the field may be the reason why they are unable to catch the Milwaukee Brewers at the top of the National League Central before the end of the season. But hey, at least the Cubs got that formality out of the way before the deadline--surely, nothing else deserved more of their attention.

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