The Chicago Cubs find themselves in a much different place headed into this 2025 season.
In 2024, there were hopes that the team would contend for the NL Central title, but there were doubts and question marks, as their biggest acquisition was a re-signing of Cody Bellinger.
This year, however, the Cubs have made some major moves and they are expected to win the division and play well into the playoffs. The PECOTA projection system sees them winning 90.1 games and gives them an 85.1% chance of making the playoffs.
This offseason has (so far) seen them acquire Houston Astros multi-tool star right fielder Kyle Tucker via trade and Astros former closer Ryan Pressly via separate trade. They signed re-habbed lefty starter Matthew Boyd. They’ve also gone about filling various roster holes with additions to the infield, at catcher, and in the bullpen.
The Chicago Cubs’ “Must Win” Pressure
The 2025 Cubs SHOULD win their division and make their first serious playoff run since the roster boasted names from their World Series championship team.
That has to be a pretty stressful proposition for Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, who will be in the final year of his contract with Chicago.
Hoyer has been with the Cubs organization for fourteen years now and played a pivotal role in helping Theo Epstein assemble the team that would win the 2016 World Series, breaking a 108-year championship drought.
Since Hoyer took the reins in 2021, however, the Cubs have failed to make postseason play. His 5-year deal as Cubs president began with a purging of talent that helped build their farm system into the force it is today but the second part of that rebuild plan– the winning part– has yet to take hold. He may only have this year to prove his plan a success.
Hoyer Feels The Pressure
“Does it feel different than it has in the past?” Hoyer told media at a Sunday press conference. “A little bit. I’ve been here for 14 years, and generally in my career I haven’t had much uncertainty. With uncertainty does come a level of anxiety. That would be a lie to say that it doesn’t. Has it caused some introspection along the way? I think that’s fair to say.”
Hoyer has said in the past that his “all in” actions this year have nothing to do with his contract situation, but that’s hard to believe. It’s just human nature to want your well-laid plans to succeed and, for the 51-year-old executive, time may have run out to prove himself. There may not be a next year if there’s no this year.
“One of the things about this job is I do take it really personally,” Hoyer added. “You want to put a winner on the field. You want to be extremely proud of the product that’s out there. And obviously there was a building process to get back to this point.
“We’re at a really great point as an organization right now. Both this year and going forward, I think there’s a lot of bright times ahead. But, yeah, it feels like there’s increased pressure. There probably should be, given that we’ve spent some time to get to this place.”
Anything Less Than A Playoff Run Would Be A Fail
Anything less than a real playoff run would be considered a serious failure, especially considering that Tucker and Pressly will probably be lost to free agency after the 2025 campaign.
From the looks of things, the Cubs may have pulled out of the Alex Bregman chase and might have put a close to any major trade talks. For all intents and purposes, this team, right now, is their 2025 team, with some minor tweaks and twists made along the way.
And, in step with the success or failure of the 2025 Cubs, will be the fate of the Cubs front office.
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