It’s not often in professional sports that an organization gets an opportunity to right a wrong.

Jed Hoyer and the Chicago Cubs might be staring at that rare second chance this winter.

After the COVID-shortened 2020 season ended with a deflating playoff loss to the Miami Marlins, the Cubs tightened payroll and made several cold-hearted decisions in the name of restructuring. One of those moves: non-tendering designated hitter Kyle Schwarber — a fan favorite and postseason hero — after he hit .188 with 11 home runs and a .701 OPS, the worst numbers of his career.

Schwarber was projected to earn around $8–9 million in arbitration, and the newly appointed president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer - Theo Epstein's replacement and former apprentice -  decided that price didn’t match his expected value. Rather than negotiate a smaller one-year deal, the Cubs simply cut him loose.

Schwarber responded the only way he could — by mashing baseballs. He launched 32 home runs with the Nationals and Red Sox the following season, and since signing with the Phillies, he’s become one of the sport’s premier power bats. He’s hit 187 home runs over the last four years. If he keeps up that kind of production, a future Hall of Fame case is very much in play.

And man, could the Cubs use that production right now.

Hoyer blew it once. This offseason gives him a chance to make it right.

The Phillies were bounced in the NLDS by the Dodgers and now look like a team ready to break up their veteran core. Schwarber, now 32, is expected to test free agency. He’ll want to get paid — Spotrac projects his market value around $100 million — and he’ll want to play for a contender.

The Cubs can offer him both.

Chicago also desperately needs to replace Kyle Tucker’s left-handed thump in the lineup if he's not re-signed. Schwarber provides that and then some — plus the emotional jolt of bringing a beloved figure back to Wrigley Field at the start of what should be a new era of sustained contention on the North Side.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post currently projects Schwarber to land back in Philadelphia, which makes sense given how emotional he was after their postseason exit. But right behind the Phillies on his list? The Chicago Cubs, slotted No. 2 ahead of the Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Giants.

The fans want it. The moment calls for it. And the Cubs have the resources to do it.

Baseball doesn’t often hand out do-overs. When it does, you don’t ask twice — you act. It’s time for Jed Hoyer to bring Kyle Schwarber home.