One way or another, this is going to be a defining offseason for the Chicago Cubs.

What they do — and how aggressively they do it — will say a lot about ownership and President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer. Cubs fans have heard the “we’re close” rhetoric before. They’ve seen incremental improvements. But they’ve also seen this front office hesitate to push all their chips in.

Even last winter, after making clear upgrades, Chicago chose not to sign Alex Bregman, instead handing the hot corner to rookie Matt Shaw. Shaw grew into the role and showed real flashes, but he also took his lumps. Then came the Kyle Tucker trade — an aggressive, win-now move that was universally applauded. But no extension was reached, and here we are in free agency with Tucker likely to test a $400 million market.

Hoyer’s logic holds up on paper. The Cubs went to Game 5 of the NLDS without their two best starting pitchers — both lost to injury. They got breakout seasons from Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch, and Cade Horton. They now have a young, controllable core, surplus depth at multiple positions, and financial flexibility.

The timeline lines up perfectly. The window is open. But that’s exactly why this can’t be another offseason of half-measures. It’s time for the Cubs to behave like one of the most valuable franchises in professional sports. It’s time to flex financial muscle and bury the rest of the NL Central in spending power.

If Hoyer and ownership hesitate now, if this ends with budget talk instead of impact signings, they’ll be ridiculed — and rightfully so.

Does that mean they have to re-sign Tucker? Not necessarily. You can replace production in more efficient ways. Hoyer made that point clearly in his end-of-season press conference, and honestly, Cubs fans should take some confidence from how he framed it.

“Clearly, Kyle had a huge impact on our offense this year. So if he’s not here, that’s a void, and we have to figure out how to replace that. But there’s a lot of different ways to do that. If you don’t retain a player of his caliber, then you have to replace those wins and that WAR in some other ways. And I think that’s something we’ll be really focused on.”

Hoyer also emphasized that conversations with ownership about budget are coming soon — and he sounded confident.

“As far as the budget stuff, I haven’t had those conversations yet. We’ll sit down over the next two or three weeks and go through that. But I’m confident we’ll have enough money to field a good team.”

Front offices that plan to sell “internal options” to their fanbase start laying that groundwork early. That’s not what Hoyer did. His tone wasn’t cautious — it was opportunistic. He’s talking about adding wins, not protecting margins. That signals something: The Cubs intend to shop at the top of the market.

And he’s right about Tucker. Re-signing him isn’t the only path. I’ve already made the case that $400 million could be deployed smarter — roughly $100 million to Kyle Schwarber, $200 million to Framber Valdez, and the remainder on role players who deepen the roster. That version of the Cubs is better than simply bringing Tucker back at maximum cost.

But this is the moment where talk stops mattering. The Cubs are no longer in the “building” phase. They are in the “finishing” phase — and finishing requires spending, aggression, and a willingness to make uncomfortable decisions. The NL Central isn’t going to hand them anything, and the Dodgers and Mets won't slow down spending for sentimentality.

Cubs fans aren’t asking for recklessness. They’re asking for intent. They’re asking for urgency. They’re asking for a front office that believes as much as the fanbase does. The window is open. Now we find out if the Cubs are willing to climb through it — or just stare at the view.