Theo Epstein said back at the Winter Meetings that the Cubs are serving multiple masters, but it’s more like they’re an office worker with several layers of leadership above them. The budget is the CEO, with different positional needs as various members of middle management barking orders that at times run contrary to what the big boss requires.
While it’d be disingenuous to use that as a definitive characterization of what Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer are dealing with, there’s a sense that needs to limit payroll while also getting the max return on any trades are stagnating any potential efforts.