Since their 2016 World Series triumph, the Chicago Cubs have frequently squandered chances to make significant improvements. Mookie Betts transitioned from Fenway Park to Dodger Stadium, and Francisco Lindor was traded from Cleveland to the New York Mets. Juan Soto? He remained on the trade market. And in free agency? No go. In recent years, a long roster of impactful hitters like Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Corey Seager, Freddie Freeman, Aaron Judge, and Shohei Ohtani became available. However, the timing was often off, the farm system wasn't strong enough, or the baseball operations budget wasn't large enough. The Cubs were running out of justifications.

Jed Hoyer's Aggressive Move

In Friday's blockbuster trade with the Houston Astros, Jed Hoyer's front office took decisive action by adding one of baseball's top players, Kyle Tucker. As a rival executive remarked, "Well, the Cubs are in the mix again. About time!" After shedding their championship core at the 2021 trade deadline and making minor improvements, the Cubs had become a team that was neither exceptional nor terrible. Back-to-back 83-win seasons left them on the periphery of the playoffs and on the verge of becoming irrelevant. "Enough players to give you hope but not truly deliver," as one league source described it.Now, Hoyer has made his boldest acquisition yet as the club's president of baseball operations. Entering the final year of his five-year contract, he has shown an awareness that time is ticking. He also created this opportunity by overhauling the scouting and player development departments and making unemotional decisions on popular players. He has carefully managed a budget that has been overshadowed by some of the National League's top teams.The cost of adding Tucker was high. To obtain the All-Star outfielder, the Cubs had to part with third baseman Isaac Paredes, pitcher Hayden Wesneski, and Cam Smith, this year's first-round pick. This depleted some of the depth that kept the major-league club in the wild-card hunt in the past two Septembers.But what was the purpose of building a deep well of prospect talent? Some of those players, like Pete Crow-Armstrong and Matt Shaw, are likely to be crucial pieces of a winning team at Wrigley Field. But others were always destined to be traded. Smith may be just the first to go.The Cubs still have roster gaps, and the organization still has seven players in MLB.com's rankings of the 100 best prospects: Shaw, Owen Caissie, Cade Horton, Moises Ballesteros, James Triantos, Kevin Alcántara, and Jefferson Rojas.

Matt Shaw's Potential

At this early stage of his career, Matt Shaw may not be a polished third baseman. However, a team source believes it's difficult to bet against a player with such focus and more athleticism than he is given credit for. The Cubs are expected to create some competition at third base rather than simply handing Shaw a job. As a league source pointed out, the Cubs could include Shaw on their Opening Day roster and hope his rookie performance earns them an additional draft pick under Major League Baseball's Prospect Promotion Incentive.When recently asked about Shaw's progress, Cubs manager Craig Counsell grouped the 2023 first-round pick with other high-profile prospects who finished last season with Triple-A Iowa. "Those guys will all have an impact on the big-league team this year in one way or another," Counsell said during MLB's Winter Meetings. "They could provide depth. Some of them could become regulars by the end of the year. I think they're all good enough and young enough that they're still in a significant developmental stage. There could be substantial growth for some of them during the season or when they show up in spring training. These are the players who force their way onto the team or into a platoon situation. And I fully expect that to happen with — maybe just one of them — but, hopefully, more than one."If that occurs, the Cubs will have even more financial flexibility to sign Tucker to the largest contract in franchise history and surround him with more talent. And if Tucker leaves as a free agent after next season, the Cubs can make him a qualifying offer, collect the draft pick, and find the next Smith, who reemerged on their radar with a strong performance in the Cape Cod League and a solid sophomore season at Florida State.Smith has only five games of professional experience above the A-ball level. Tucker, on the other hand, has a World Series ring, a Gold Glove, and a career 139 OPS+ over 2,561 major-league plate appearances. This is a lineup-altering move that has put the Cubs back in the national spotlight and placed Tucker in a much larger limelight. Playing in one of the most renowned ballparks in the game, in one of the largest cities in the country, and for a franchise with a rich history, Tucker can no longer be an underappreciated star.