Chicago Cubs: The 2010s All-Decade Team

The Chicago Cubs All-Decade team is dominated by players from the 2016 World Series champions. The decade was the franchise’s winningest since the 1930s.

The second decade of the 21st Century was a roller coaster for Chicago Cubs fans, although that was OK because the coaster ride at least included some major highs.

The highlight, obviously, was the franchise’s 2016 World Series victory, the first for Cubs fans in 108 years. The Cubs also won the 2017 NL Central title and closed the decade with an 817-803 cumulative record, their first plus-.500 decades since the 1930s.

Between 2015 and 2019, the Cubs strung together four consecutive winning seasons for the first time since the early 1970s.

The decade saw the election of nine Cubs starters to the National League All-Star team, and most of those spots came in a burst. In the 2016 championship season, the entire infield – first baseman Anthony Rizzo, second baseman Ben Zobrist, shortstop Addison Russell and third baseman Kris Bryant – was elected, as was center fielder Dexter Fowler.

Then in 2018 and again in 2019, infielder Javier Baez and catcher Willson Contreras were both elected.

As always with the Cubs, there were also lowlights. In 2013 and again in 2014, they finished last in the NL Central. In 2012 they lost 101 games and struggled to a .377 winning percentage, the team’s worst since 1953.

Before Joe Maddon arrived to stabilize dugout leadership in 2015, the Cubs tore through four managers in the decade’s first five seasons.

Naturally, the Chicago Cubs All-Decade team is heavily influenced by that 2016 World Series title. Even in their dark days, however, the Cubs featured individual talents, some of whom also deserve recognition. Here’s the lineup

The All-Decade Chicago Cubs Infield

Willson Contreras, Catcher

• Years: 2016-2019
• Home runs: 67
• OPS+: .113
• All-Star (2018-2019)

The Cubs’ minor league system has rarely been known as an overly productive one, but three times in the decade the Cubs benefitted from that system behind the plate.

Among Geovany Soto, Wellington Castillo and Willson Contreras, the incumbent is the logical All-Decade team selection. Contreras appeared in more games (1,381) than any of the others, hit more home runs (55), and had a higher batting average (.264).

Soto was also an All-Star starter – and rookie of the year – but that was back in 2008. By the time of his mid-season trade to Texas in 2012, Soto was a sub-.200 batter.

Castillo’s arrival speeded Soto’s exit, but Castillo only gave the Cubs two good seasons before his offense, too, dried up. His successor, Miguel Montero, held down the catching tasks through the world championship season before being shunted aside in favor of Contreras.

Aside from a desultory second half of the 2018 season, Contreras has been a steady contributor, producing OPS+ numbers consistently around 120.

His biggest weakness has been identified as pitch framing. He’s also been injury-prone, averaging 120 games over the most recent three seasons.

The All-Decade Chicago Cubs Infield

Anthony Rizzo, First base

• Years: 2012-2019
• HRs: 217
• OPS+: 130
• All-Star: 2014-15-16
• Gold Glove: 2016, 2018-19
• Silver Slugger: 2016

Rizzo is the runaway choice at first base, where he has been the incumbent for most of the decade.

He arrived in a trade with San Diego for Andrew Cashner prior to the 2012 season and batted .285 with 15 home runs in part-time action as a rookie. By 2013, he was a fixture. Over the past seven seasons, Rizzo has averaged 152 games, never playing in fewer than 140.

He compiled four consecutive 100-RBI seasons between 2015 and 2018, falling off to 94 this year.

Since 2014, he has not produced an OPS below .846.

Ben Zobrist, Second Base

• Years: 2016-2019
• HRs: 40
• OPS: 104
• All-Star: 2016

Zobrist signed as a free agent prior to the 2016 season and for three seasons was a versatile tool in the Cubs lineup. He divided time at five positions, although each year making more appearances at second base than any other.

A .272 batter in 2016, Zobrist gilded his reputation by delivering the key hit in the seventh game of the World Series, for which he was named World Series MVP. He slumped in 2017, but in 2018 hit .305 with a .817 OPS.

Beset by family-related issues in 2019, Zobrist’s Cub tenure ended ingloriously although when available he still produced a .260 average.

The All-Decade Chicago Cubs Outfield

Kyle Schwarber, Leftfield

• Years: 2015-2019
• HRs: 110
• OPS+: 115

The contest comes down to Schwarber vs. Alfonso Soriano, who held down the position into 2013. It’s a close call. During the decade, Soriano played in 170 more games (2,054 to 1,884) and had a better batting average (.255 to .235). But Schwarber had all the power advantages, 110 home runs to Soriano’s 99 and a 115 OPS+ to  Soriano’s 110.

The nod goes to Schwarber because his 4.9 WAR is also superior to Soriano’s 3.5.

Dexter Fowler, Centerfield

• Years: 2015, 2016
• HRs: 30
• OPS+: 97

The case for Fowler is handicapped by the fact that he played more seasons in Colorado (4) and St. Louis (3)  than in Chicago (2). Still, they were good seasons, including his critical stints as an instigator of the 2016  offense, for which he produced a .393 on-base average.

Fowler also benefits from the lukewarm contributions of his competitors, principally Albert Almora Jr. and Marlon Byrd. Of the three, Fowler actually played in more games during the decade, had the most home runs and the best OPS+.

Jason Heyward, Right field

• Years: 2016-2019
• HRs: 47
• OPS+: 86
• Gold Glove 2016-2017

It says something about the state of right field in Chicago that a guy with a cumulative 86 OPS+ is the selection.

But Heyward basically wins the honor by default. Kosuke Fukudome gave Chicago one decent season, and from there you’re looking at a combo platter of Tyler Colvin, David DeJesus, Nate Schierholtz, and Jorge Soler.

And as good as Nick Castellanos was in August and September of 2019, you can’t make an All-Decade team in two months.

Compared with them, Heyward’s .252 average and two Gold Glove begin to look tolerable, if not overwhelming.

The All-Decade Chicago Cubs Rotation

The Cubs got the best Jake Arrieta had. He arrived from Baltimore as a low-expectation arm, and within two seasons was a 22-6, 1.77 Cy Young Award winner. He made the All-Star team in 2016 on his way to an 18-8 performance. During five seasons in Chicago, Arrieta went 68-31. His career record at all other stops is 38-44.

Kyle Hendricks arrived from Texas in 2014 and, like Arrieta, blossomed. His 2.13 ERA led the National League in 2016 and he finished third in Cy Young Award voting.  Over six seasons as a starter, Hendricks hasn’t yet produced a losing record.

When the Cubs signed Jon Lester as a free agent prior to the 2015 season, it marked the beginning of their ascendency. With the Cubs, Lester has been ace-level. He has a 74-41 record and 3.54 ERA, annually starting in excess of 30 games. In 2016 he finished second in the Cy Young voting. He’s a 2016 and 2018 All-Star selection.

In the dark seasons between 2011 and 2013, Matt Garza was the Cubs’ hope. In 2011 he went 10-10 for a team that lost 91 games, leading the team’s starters in ERA. Injuries limited him to 18 appearances in 2012, then in 2013, he started 6-1 with a 3.17 ERA in 11 appearances for a team that would lose 96 games.  Obvious trade bait, he was promptly shipped to Texas for three prospects.

Ryan Dempster filled either the starter or reliever role well. He went 15-12 in 2010 and 30-31 for the final three seasons of his Cub career before being shipped to Texas for Hendricks.

The All-Decade Chicago Cubs Bullpen

Carlos Marmol, Closer

• Years: 2010-2013
• Saves: 94

More from Call to the Pen

• Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
• Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
• Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
• Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
• 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals

As is often the case with closers generally, Marmol’s performance with the Cubs was mercurial. He finished 70 games in 2010, saving 38, and added 34 more saves in 2011. In 2013, though, the league caught up to Marmol, who was traded to the Dodgers and who was out of the majors entirely by May of 2014.

Hector Rondon, Right-handed Setup

• Years: 2013-2017
• Saves: 77

Rondon succeeded Marmol as the team’s main closer, generating 29 saves in 2014, and 30 more in 2015. He saved another 18 during the first half of 2016 but when the suspicion took hold that the league was catching up to Rondon the Cubs traded for Aroldis Chapman to buttress their post-season plans. Consigned thereafter to setup duty, Rondon was released following a lackluster 2017 season.

James Russell, Left-handed setup

• Years: 2010-2014 and 2015
• Saves:  4

The Cubs brought Russell to the majors in 2010, and he appeared in 365 games for them, largely as a left-handed specialist. Russell fanned 223 batters in 306 innings across two stints with the Cubs., who traded him to Atlanta in 2014 for current backup catcher Vic Caratini, then re-signed him as a free agent less than a year later.