Chicago Cubs: Rebuilding 101

The Chicago Cubs were not secretive about their desire to rebuild when they brought in Theo Epstein and his team in 2011. The rebuild has brought them two wins away from a championship.

The decision to rebuild is never an easy one, especially for a large market team like the Chicago Cubs. One must consider many varying factors. Regardless of all this, Theo Epstein and his team joined the Cubs organization and flipped it upside down. They weren’t afraid of fans jumping ship or the criticism of the media. They simply jumped in head-first on a rebuild.

Some lingering players like Javier Baez and Willson Contreras already puttering in the minor leagues gave them a good start, but the majority of the rebuild was orchestrated by Epstein. From the moment he was brought in, he started making his moves toward rebuilding the team. He let some players go, but most notably he made a trade in January that would be one of the biggest in the rebuilding phase. He sent Andrew Cashner and a minor leaguer to the San Diego Padres and got Anthony Rizzo and a minor leaguer in return. That same year he signed Jorge Soler, a sought-after Cuban prospect.

His most valuable move of the 2012 season was no doubt when he traded Ryan Dempster to the Texas Rangers. Dempster had been one of the Cubs’ better pitchers over previous years, but Theo decided it was time to trade him away at the deadline. What he got in return was Christian Villanueva, who never really amounted to anything, and Kyle Hendricks, this year’s ERA leader. That offseason he signed Scott Feldman, who would become important later. In 2012, the Chicago Cubs won just 61 games. That record was bad enough to give them the second overall pick in the following year’s draft.

In 2013, the rebuild was moved along with two huge moves. The first was drafting Kris Bryant with the second overall pick in the 2013 MLB Draft. Bryant was a power machine in college and a no-brainer for the Cubs, who were beginning to stack up hitting prospects. The second huge move the Cubs and Epstein made that year was trading Scott Feldman and Steve Clevenger to the Baltimore Orioles for Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop. The Cubs won 66 games that season, which lowered their draft pick in the first round ever so slightly.

In 2014, the Chicago Cubs drafted Kyle Schwarber in the first round. It was a pick that some mocked, because of Schwarber’s questionable position long-term. Theo Epstein and his team of scouts never had a doubt about Schwarber. At the deadline, Epstein traded Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel for Addison Russell and two other minor players. It was a move that was questioned by the Chicago media, wondering just how well Epstein’s plan was going. They wondered when the Cubs would actually be successful, instead of a team full of young prospects. The Cubs won 73 games that season.

For those wondering just how long it would take for Epstein’s plan to work, they didn’t have to wait long. In the offseason before the 2015 season, the Cubs signed Jon Lester and named Joe Maddon the manager of the team. Those two moves, along with the additions of Kris Bryant, Addison Russell and Kyle Schwarber throughout the year quickly pushed the Cubs to playoff contention. Behind Jake Arrieta’s fantastic second half of 2015, the Cubs earned a spot in the Wild Card Game, where they dominated the Pirates. They took down their other divisional nemesis the Cardinals in the NLDS, and seemed in a great spot headed into the NLCS.

After being shut down by the Mets in a quick four-game series, the Cubs were left needing just a little more. A little more pitching, and a little something more in the field. That’s when they added John Lackey to their rotation, signed veteran and then World Series champion Ben Zobrist and gave huge money to Jason Heyward. It was the icing on the cake of a rebuild. Spending big money on premium players at premium positions to add to the players they had groomed themselves over the years.

With all of that in place, the Chicago Cubs were easy favorites heading into 2016. They did not disappoint, as they won 103 games on their way to the NL Central division title for the first time since 2008. While they haven’t won anything yet, the question arises about whether teams should follow their path.

Theo Epstein had a plan when he arrived in Chicago. His plan went to perfection thanks to great scouting, good decision making and a little bit of luck. While it’s not entirely possible to copy what Epstein did with the Cubs (if it was, everyone would do it), there are lessons to be learned from how the Cubs managed to go from lovable losers who occasionally “went for it” to no avail to a team built to go on multiple postseason runs over the next decade.

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The first lesson is that it’s okay to lose. Epstein was not shy about the Cubs’ desire to tank their seasons. The players on the field were still playing to the best of their ability, but there was no question that the roster was set up to lose. They were okay with that. Fans and media members were not as pleasant about the desire to lose, but Epstein didn’t care. He knew it would put them in position to draft players like Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber.

The second lesson is that scouting really matters. It’s how the Cubs were able to make trades for Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Hendricks, Jake Arrieta and Addison Russell. Those trades were vitally important to the Cubs’ rebuilding process, showing that drafting alone cannot get it done. A team has to be willing to trade their assets away in return for future stars.

The final lesson is that money still must be spent. Too often a rebuild is seen as a way to build a great team without spending any money. That’s not the case, and that’s certainly not what the Cubs did. They were able to build a solid core of players from drafting and magnificent trades, but the players they signed in free agency are what put them a cut above the rest. Their young talent on cheaper contracts to begin their careers gave them the flexibility to sign players like Lester, Lackey, Zobrist and Heyward. While Heyward is having the worst hitting season of his career, the rest of the moves have paid off in a huge way.

Next: Francona Winning Management Battle

A lot can be learned from the way the Chicago Cubs were able to so swiftly rise from the beat-down group of 2012 to the best team in baseball in 2016. Other teams may not be able to replicate exactly what Epstein and his group were able to do, but they can follow some of the same tenets. There’s no one best way to winning, but what the Cubs have done certainly seems like a good one. Teams are wise to pay attention to what they’ve done.