Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer is holding on to his mantra.

“We have to stay healthy. We have to outperform expectations,” Hoyer told The Athletic in his yearly preseason Q&A with columnist Jon Greenberg.

Greenberg pointed out that Hoyer said something very similar last year, and Hoyer agreed that things “just didn’t happen.”

“Last year was a strange season,” Hoyer said. “We put ourselves in a hole that we were not able to get out of despite the fact that we played really good baseball the last three months of the season.”

In 2024, the Cubs went 44-33 (.571) in July, August and September, compared to their opening mark of 39-46 (.458). Hoyer said that this year, there is no room for the Cubs to slide for as long as they did last year.

“The Dodgers can have some things go wrong. For us, we don’t have a lot of margin for error,” Hoyer said of underperforming.

Hoyer made a statement, win-now trade in acquiring Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros in December, giving up 2024 first-rounder Cam Smith, former All-Star Isaac Paredes and right-handed pitcher Hayden Wesneski for the three-time All Star. Now, Smith is causing a buzz around MLB after unexpectedly making the Astros’ Opening Day roster.

[READ: Former Cubs first-round pick Cam Smith named to Astros’ Opening Day roster]

“You’re not going to acquire a guy like Tucker without giving up real talent,” Hoyer said. “[Tucker] does everything. He plays defense, runs the bases, great offensive player … It’s what we’ve lacked on the field for the last couple of seasons.”

Expectations are certainly lofty for the Cubs this season, with multiple major outlets predicting their return to the top of the NL Central come October.

It’s now playoffs or bust for manager Craig Counsell’s men, and Hoyer knows that the time to perform is now.

“We can’t muddle through, just show up and make the postseason,” Hoyer said. “We have to have a really good season to do that.”

[MORE: Cubs face baseball’s toughest test as hunt for October resumes]

Catch the 2025 Cubs season preview show at 6 p.m. and the Road to Wrigley: Farm Report at 7 p.m. on Marquee Sports Network.