Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts Acknowledges Time Had Come To Move On

Chicago IL

03 August, 2021

11:40 AM

Description

CHICAGO — Three days after the Chicago Cubs dismantled the core of a team that captured the 2016 World Series championship by trading Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Javier Baez among others, chairman Tom Ricketts sent a letter to season-ticket holders saying the team did what it believes is best for baseball business. The Cubs traded away the three stars and completed a cross-town trade involving closer Craig Kimbrel, who was dealt to the White Sox. Rizzo was traded to the New York Yankees on Thursday to start the flurry of activity before Baez was traded to the New York Mets and Bryant was sent to the San Francisco Giantsin deals that brought mostly minor leaguers in return. In the letter, Ricketts said that the past week has been "extremely hard for everyone" and said it is impossible to properly prepare for parting ways with players who personify what it means to be a Cub, Ricketts wrote. Fans took to social media two days before the trade deadline to express frustration that Rizzo, Bryant and Kimbrel did not make appearances in the final home game before Friday's trade deadline. Videos surface of Bryant on the Cubs bench looking out at Wrigley Field following a loss to the Cincinnati Reds. The house-cleaning came after the Cubs lost 11 straight games before the All-Star game, which dropped them from first place fourth place in the National League Central Division. In the letter to season-ticket holders, Ricketts wrote: "Keeping our core together as long as we did helped create one of the most successful eras of Cubs baseball. It wasn't without a price as we traded several promising prospects from 2016-2020 in our quest to win another World Series. Over the past few weeks, it became clear it was time to make decisions focused on the future not on our past: however we not regret pouring everything we had into keeping this championship window open as long as possible." After the Cubs' free-fall from first place, team president Jed Hoyer acknowledged the same ideas that Ricketts shared in his letter with season-ticket holders Monday. He said how quickly the team transitioned from chasing after their second straight division title to becoming sellers as the trade deadline. "We were certainly on the buy side of this transaction and everyone was calling about that," Hoyer told reporters at the time. "Now obviously people are calling to see which people are available, so it's a very different scenario than we expected. Life comes at you fast. Eleven days ago, this is not where we were at mentally." Ricketts wrote that the franchise is focused on replenishing the team's farm system and reloading the roster to build "our next great Cubs team." He said that Cubs fans are no longer content with just making the playoffs and said that ownership and the team's front office shares fans expectations. He cited the patience fans showed in the years leading up to 2016 when the Cubs rebuilt their team through free agency and trades that constructed the roster that ended the team's 108-year championship drought. "You believed in our plan to win and trusted us to deliver on our commitment to play championship baseball in the greatest ballpark in America," Ricketts wrote. "We did, and I assure you, we will do it again. "We understand it might take a little time to process these changes as we integrate new players into our already talented roster. If the past tells us anything, watching a remarkable team come together is extremely exciting and rewarding, especially when everyone is aligned on the goal of winning the World Series."