This has not been the season the Chicago Cubs envisioned.
After they heartbreakingly missed the playoffs by one game last year, the ownership group and front office proclaimed they were going to put together a roster that would contend for the postseason.
Their first big splash was making Craig Counsell the highest paid manager in Major League Baseball history, but after that, they were one of the last franchises to add a player in free agency.
The Cubs were eventually able to bring in some additions, notably signing star international pitcher Shota Imanaga, star reliever Hector Neris, and reuniting with Cody Bellinger late in the process after it looked like that wouldn't happen.
Still, many were left wondering if Chicago could, and should, have done more to ensure they would be contenders in the NL Central and National League as a whole.
Those fears were realized.
Despite a hot month of August that inserted them back into the Wild Card race, they now sit five games out of the final spot are are a longshot to get into the playoffs.
President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer stated they have their eye on 2025 when they landed Isaac Paredes at the trade deadline and decided to hold onto many of their moveable pieces instead of selling, but until the Cubs actually are able to get into the postseason, that will just be viewed as lip service.
All eyes will be on how Chicago operates this winter, with some more high-profile players seemingly hitting the market.
But ahead of free agency, Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY reported there are some apparent issues within the organization.
"There is internal friction in the Chicago Cubs' front office, high-ranking officials say, but despite their disappointing season, Jed Hoyer, president of baseball operations, will return in 2025," he wrote.
He doesn't shed any light on what the issues might be beyond that statement, but this is something that seems to have been bubbling under the surface for some time since the last playoff appearance by the Cubs came in 2020, the only time they've been playing fall baseball since Hoyer took over this role.
His contract runs through the 2025 season, so there could be some changes coming in the future if Chicago isn't able to meet their self-imposed standard of making the playoffs.
So far, it's safe to say that Hoyer has underwhelmed during his time as the Cubs' architect, despite building up the farm system into one of the top pipelines in the league.
This will be something to monitor throughout the winter.
