Chicago Cubs: Tough decisions are looming for front office

When the Chicago Cubs traded starting pitcher Yu Darvish during this past off-season for a package of prospects that have barely played any professional baseball, it was a clear sign of the direction that the front office wanted to take the team.

While Cubs’ general manager Jed Hoyer maintained that the team was attempting to thread the needle between rebuilding and contending, it was clear that the organization was leaning heavily towards rebuilding. Darvish was the only big name to be traded. That is not including the non-tender of Kyle Schwarber and refusal to re-sign Jon Lester.

Cubs’ third baseman Kris Bryant was certainly on the trade block and had it not been for his injury-plagued 2020 campaign, chances are that Bryant would have been traded by now. Instead, Bryant has started the 2021 season with Cubs as part of a core that still has Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, and Willson Contreras.

After a slow start to the season, the Cubs have the potential to be alone at the top of the National League Central division on Friday after completing their three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday. The Cubs are currently tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for first place and the Cardinals play the Arizona Diamondback on Thursday night.

The Chicago Cubs players are not making life easy for the front office right now.

The Cubs’ players have placed the front office in an incredibly difficult position. The Darvish trade made it clear that the Ricketts’ Family does not want to pay players for mediocre results. But with the calendar turning to the month of June and the Cubs at the top of the National League Central division, the true color of the Ricketts family will come to light.

June will be a true indicator of what type of team that the Cubs are. During the month of June, the Cubs have six games against the San Diego Padres, a four-game set against each of the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers, and another series against the Cardinals.

If the Cubs are able to survive that stretch of games and remain near the top of the National League Central division, it would be inexcusable for the front office to push the idea that the team needs to sell. What the Ricketts’ family has failed to realize in recent seasons is that this Cubs’ team is too talented to warrant an all-out fire sale.

They tried to use the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to close their wallet. Fortunately, the Cubs’ players are exposing the Ricketts for the frauds that they are. With Wrigley Field likely being allowed to host fans at full capacity within the next month or two and the Cubs’ contending, the Ricketts will risk revealing their identity as the true villains of the Cubs’ organization if they decide to force the front office to sell.

For the Chicago Cubs players, there should only be one goal and that is to keep making life uncomfortable for The Ricketts’ family.