WASHINGTON -- The Chicago Cubs lost 11 games in a row, sealing their fate in the standings for 2021 and for the future.Jed Hoyer, president of baseball operations, tore down the team that he had helped build -- which won the 2016 World Series. Anthony Rizzo, first baseman, was traded to New York Yankees. Javy Baez, shortstop to the New York Mets, and Kris Bryant third baseman/outfielder to the San Francisco Giants were also traded.After this season, all three Cubs are free agents.Hoyer stated that either we could hold these players for 2 months and then have them compete for a 4th-place team, or we could do everything in our power reset our farm system. "We have accelerated that in the past 10 days."Hoyer also traded All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel from the Cubs to the White Sox. Although it appears like a complete rebuild, Hoyer believes he avoided one. He called the Cubs' substantial roster shake-up at trade deadline difficult, but necessary."Is it emotionally hard?" Hoyer asked. Hoyer answered, "Yes. Do you think it was the right thing to do for the company? "I do."He mentioned teams such as the Giants, Detroit Tigers, and Philadelphia Phillies that went all the way through team control with players only to then become competitive again after years.Hoyer said that they fell off the edge of the cliff, and they had to rebuild. "We would have gone that far if we were the winning team, but this year we weren't. So, we were able speed up that process dramatically.Even before the season started, the Cubs moved it along when they traded Yu Darvish, the Cy Young runner-up, and failed to make any meaningful additions. The breakup was also caused by their inability to extend contracts to their own players. Only Kyle Hendricks, a pitcher on the 2016 roster, signed a long-term deal.Hoyer stated, "I must say that we made offers for everyone that I believe will stand out exceptionally well." "We were unable to reach deals. Is that frustrating? Although it frustrates me, it is not impossible. "I'm proud to have made the offers that we did."Rizzo declined an extension this spring, while Baez was a pandemic casualty of talks that stalled after the closing of baseball last March.Bryant's team and the Cubs disagree on whether or not he was offered a large contract. Bryant says he didn't see a deal in excess of $200 million, or else he would sign it.After winning the World Series, the team struggled. The team made three more playoff appearances from 2017 to 2020, but it was not perfect. They lacked contact and had young, promising pitching. They were in the pennant race every year but they failed to win, especially at the plate.It all ended in Hoyer maximizing his situation on Friday and trading seven players for the final two days of his career.Hoyer stated that there are two kinds of currency in the game. There's prospect/talent currency, and there's financial money. In the last two to three years, we have been short on either one or both."We have financial currency and prospect currency for the future."They are now short of star players, as a depleted Cubs side by side with a depleted Washington Nationals team took to the field Friday night. Both teams are currently resetting in the hopes of competing again soon. Hoyer had to say goodbye to the players he watched grow up. The players who broke a 108 year championship drought.Hoyer stated that he didn't want anyone to feel a lack in emotion after trading away beloved players. "Did they decide as a team to not have them stay two months here?" We did. But, I still love these guys and hope that people will understand. We created something truly special.
