51ºÚÁÏ

Hoyer was in the final year of his contract this season. He faced a win-or-else mandate after taking the franchise through another painful tank-and-rebuild cycle.

And the Cubs have been winning. They are battling the intrepid Milwaukee Brewers for the National League Central title and they are firmly in the playoff bracket.

“Jed and his baseball operations staff have built a healthy player development organization and put an exciting, playoff contending team on the field,� Cubs executive chairman Tom Ricketts said in a release. “We are looking forward to the rest of the season and to working with Jed for years to come.�

Writing for The Athletic, Patrick Mooney broke it down:

Though the job is incomplete, Hoyer has largely executed the vision that he presented to ownership, the Chicago media and Cubs fans in 2020. Faced with a budget crunch, a poor farm system and star players nearing free agency, Hoyer made a series of unpopular decisions in the hopes of building a sustainable, long-term contender.

Between non-tendering Kyle Schwarber, and trading Anthony Rizzo, Javier Báez and Kris Bryant in a massive sell-off at the 2021 deadline, Hoyer scattered the remnants of the magical 2016 team, the franchise’s only World Series winner in more than a century.

Trading Báez, a looming free agent, to the New York Mets yielded Pete Crow-Armstrong, who has since blossomed into an All-Star center fielder and the new face of the franchise.

Hoyer accelerated the work that began toward the end of the Epstein regime, overhauling the systems in scouting and player development. Hoyer’s group placed an even greater emphasis on data and the models housed on the internal “Ivy� platform.

With Ricketts’ approval, Hoyer increased the club’s presence in Japan, an investment that has yielded slugger Seiya Suzuki and All-Star pitcher Shota Imanaga.

Working within the budget parameters for baseball operations, Hoyer has often targeted the upper-middle class of free agents, players such as Gold Glove shortstop Dansby Swanson, starting pitcher Jameson Taillon and All-Star pitcher Matthew Boyd. In avoiding the megadeals — the long-term contracts that ownership would consider to be irrational — the Cubs have a ton of financial flexibility for the future.

One of Hoyer’s biggest achievements was hiring manager Craig Counsell after convincing him that the rebuild will work.

“He was just very optimistic about the future and where the Cubs were headed,� Counsell said. “He sold that really well. And I believed it and thought it was the right [decision]. I agreed with him completely. He was really passionate about believing that, and I think he was right.�

It remains to be seen if the Cubs will use that flexibility to re-sign outfielder Kyle Tucker as he heads toward free agency. The franchise may continue riding home-grown prospects like third baseman Matt Shaw,

“What he's done over the past three, four years has been really impressive,” Cubs left fielder Ian Happ told . “To come in when he came in, as the guy in charge to deal with how difficult '21 was for everybody -- for players, the fan base and a lot of guys that he's known for so long -- and handle that the way he did, and then be able to build up what we have now, it's been awesome to watch.”

Here is what folks have been writing about the looming trade deadline:

Zack Meisel, The Athletic: “For weeks, the Cleveland Guardians had fielded trade inquiries about closer Emmanuel Clase. Now, there will be no trade. Clase will not don a major-league uniform until at least September, as Major League Baseball placed him on non-disciplinary paid leave through at least Aug. 31, as the league continues a sports betting investigation that began with fellow Cleveland pitcher Luis L. Ortiz. The development delivers a crushing blow to a Guardians team that was hanging around the periphery of the Wild Card race, but had played its best baseball of the season in recent weeks. Instead, they’re without one of their top young starters and the most prolific closer in franchise history, and now they must wait to learn the fate of both pitchers.�

Mike Axisa, : “Reliever demand always outweighs supply at the trade deadline, and with Clase off the market, teams with relievers to trade can seek that much more in return. This includes the Minnesota Twins with Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax, the Pittsburgh Pirates with David Bednar and Dennis Santana, the 51ºÚÁÏ Cardinals with Ryan Helsley and Phil Maton, and others. With one fewer top reliever available, the bidding for other top relievers will be much more fierce.”

Kiley McDaniel, : “The Mets are looking to ideally add two relievers -- a center fielder, and possibly an additional hitter to slot in a designated hitter, in the event that their current regular DH Mark Vientos is one of the players they need to include in a deal to address their needs. White Sox CF Luis Robert Jr. is their top target for the center-field need, with Orioles CF Cedric Mullins as the second option, as Jesse Rogers has noted below. I'm told the White Sox have focused on Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio, Vientos and Luisangel Acuna in those Robert talks.”

Will Leitch, : “The Phillies will be buyers forever, or at least until all these veterans end up reaching their 50s. But it’s particularly urgent for them to be so now, with the Mets charging and the NL standings so clogged at the top. (The difference between the No. 1 seed in the NL and the No. 5 seed could end up being only a game or two.) For all those big-name Philadelphia veterans, it should be said that the bottom half of this lineup, particularly the infielders, is awfully thin right now -- far too thin for a team with the Phillies’ World Series hopes (really their World Series desperations). The starting pitching has been a wonder this year, but the club needs some more bats to back it up. The future? The Phillies stopped worrying about the future a long time ago.”

Patrick Dubuque, Baseball Reference: “As trades go, this (Randal Grichuk) one is difficult to object to. As is so often the case with recent Royals trades, this is technically an upgrade, as J.J. Picollo continues to try to deckbuild his way to a decent bottom half of the lineup. If there’s a way to damn the organization on these low-cost, low-risk pickups, it’s to note that they keep needing to do them: Everything they use to plug holes become holes, from Adam Frazier to Nelson Velásquez to Yuli Gurriel to Tommy Pham to Robbie Grossman to Jonathan India to Mark Canha to Adam Frazier again. Kansas City’s lineup is a crypt, and they keep stuffing in bodies.�

Jorge Castillo, : “The Dodgers, Mets and Yankees are among the teams that have shown interest in Twins outfielder Harrison Bader, sources told ESPN. Bader is a plus defender batting .255 with 12 home runs and a .777 OPS in 93 games this season. His 2.0 fWAR ranks 30th in the majors among outfielders. He would effectively be a rental for a contender; he signed a one-year deal with $6.25 million guaranteed plus up to $2 million in bonuses that includes a mutual option for 2026 . . . The Yankees seek a right-handed-hitting outfielder with Aaron Judge's flexor strain throwing a wrench into their season. The Mets could use an upgrade in center field. The Dodgers, meanwhile, could use Bader in center field, move Andy Pages to left field and struggling Michael Conforto (.194 batting average and .650 OPS) to the bench.”

Megaphone

“We're down 3-0. He feels horrible. It's like a fighter getting knocked down in the first round and he had to regroup And that he did. It just goes to how you the kid can pitch, not just throw. He'll remember this outing and he's going to learn from it.�

Brewers manager Pat Murphy, on Jacob Misiorowski soldiering after a 40-pitch first inning.