The Chicago Cubs fortunes changed on October 4th, 2008 when Los Angeles Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton struck out Cubs left fielder Alfonso Soriano to send the Dodgers to their first NLCS since they won the World Series in 1988.
The offseason after that was a busy one for the Cubs as they traded away Mark Derosa for pitching prospects, lost Kerry Wood in free agency, traded Jason Marquis away for Luis Vizcaino, and added Kevin Gregg from the Florida Marlins. All of those moves contributed significantly to the 2009 Cubs but the biggest and most controversial was the signing of Milton Bradley to a three-year 31 million dollar contract. Bradley was coming off of a fantastic season where he hit .321/.436/.563 with 22 home runs and 77 RBI, but he was widely regarded as a clubhouse cancer and the deal would come back to bite the Cubs.
In early 2009, the Cubs were sold from the Tribune Company to the Ricketts family for over $900 million. Although the Ricketts family took on a lot of debt, the deal would ultimately be the best move for the team.
The 2009 Cubs were a very frustrating team to watch. Geovany Soto had a very disappointing season after winning Rookie of the Year the prior season, Aramis Ramirez played in only 82 games but managed to hit .317 with 15 home runs while struggling with shoulder issues, Alfonso Soriano had arthroscopic surgery and missed almost all of September when the Cubs needed him the most.
Overall, the 2009 Cubs finished 83-78, but were in first place as late as August 6th. Milton Bradley was a significant disappointment hitting .257/.378/.397 but had significant off the field issues that resulted in being sent home by manager Lou Piniella in mid September.
After the 2009 season, the Cubs made a pair of moves that paid major dividends for them in the 2010 season. First, they signed Marlon Byrd who had a very solid year for the Cubs and became an All Star, then they were somehow able to unload Milton Bradley to the Seattle Mariners who sent Carlos Silva over to the Cubs and he ended up being a solid player for them.
2010 was a very disappointing year for the Cubs as numerous players underperformed and Carlos Zambrano had another incident in which he lost his temper and fought his own teammate Derrek Lee after he had made a costly error. Big Z was eventually suspended for over a month and returned in a bullpen role (albeit he would eventually return to a starting role).
On July 20th, long time Cubs manager Lou Piniella announced his retirement at the end of the season, but after a 16-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves on August 22nd, Piniella resigned and Mike Quade took over as the interim manager. Under Quade, the Cubs would finish 24-13 and he would be named the permanent manager.
The Cubs began their rebuild by trading away starting pitcher Ted Lilly and starting second baseman Ryan Theriot to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for pitching prospects Kyle Smit and Brett Wallach and middle infielder Blake Dewitt. None of the players the Cubs acquired would pan out for them but it showed a concerted effort to get younger.
In August, the Cubs traded away star 1B Derrek Lee to the Atlanta Braves for 3 prospects. Lee was having a very disappointing season hitting just .251/.335/.416 with 16 home runs and 56 RBI. He was just a season removed from a .306/.393/.428 season with 35 home runs.
Overall, the 2010 Cubs finished 75-87 with Carlos Marmol having the best season of his career with 38 saves and 138 strikeouts in 77.2 innings pitched. The Cubs had to deal with a bullpen that only had two players that were consistent and healthy the entire season with Carlos Marmol and Sean Marshall and and an offense that ranked in the middle of the pack in some categories and towards the bottom in most.
One of the few bright spots on the team was rookie phenom Starlin Castro, who made his big league debut on May 6th and drove in a rookie record six runs from a three run homer in his first big league at bat and a three run triple in a 14-7 victory. Overall Castro would hit .300/.347/.408 but with below average defense with 27 errors at shortstop.
Over the offseason, the Cubs made two notable offseason moves that would pay major dividends for them both in 2011 and beyond. They added Carlos Pena from the Tampa Bay Rays on a one year contract and made a trade with the Rays that sent Matt Garza, Fernando Perez, Zac Rosscup to the Cubs in exchange for prospects Chris Archer, Hak-Ju Lee, Brandon Guyer, catcher Robinson Chirinos and fringe outfielder Sam Fuld. Garza would be a pivotal member of the Cubs rotation but would eventually be a part of a major trade that would send him to the Texas Rangers.
The Cubs also signed reunited with former star starting pitcher and closer Kerry Wood on a one year contract. He had a turbulent season pitching well with the New York Yankees after struggling in Cleveland.
The Cubs would finish just 71-91, but their biggest move wasn’t on the field. Towards the end of July, the Cubs caught a lot of criticism by only making one move when it was very obvious they needed to rebuild. It turns out that long time general manager Jim Hendry had been fired but was allowed to stay on to handle the draft pick signings including first round pick Javier Baez, but he was constrained on his ability to make trades.
Carlos Zambrano ended his Cubs career with a bang by getting lit up by the Atlanta Braves and then throwing inside to Chipper Jones, getting ejected, and then finally clearing out his locker and saying he’s retiring. The Cubs responded by putting him on the restricted list and effectively ended his Cubs career.
While the Cubs were finishing, their season ownership was trying to find a new man to bring the Cubs into the future. They were reportedly interested in Andrew Friedman of the Rays and Brian Cashman of the New York Yankees but during the month of October Red Sox GM Theo Epsteins name kept getting brought up along with Padres GM Jed Hoyer.
On October 12th, a report came out saying that Epstein was on the verge of joining the Cubs and on October 18th, the first reports came out mentioning Jed Hoyer as a possible candidate to join the Cubs as well.
The Cubs officially announced that Epstein had joined the Cubs on October 22nd and introduced him on October 25th. On October 26th, the Cubs also announced they had hired Padres GM Jed Hoyer to be their GM and Jason McLeod to be their scouting director with Theo, becoming the President of Baseball Operations.
One of the first moves the Cubs made was trading outfielder Tyler Colvin, who had a good rookie year in 2010 but a very disappointing 2011, to the Colorado Rockies along with DJ Lemahieu for Ian Stewart and Casey Weathers. DJ would become a Gold Glove winner for the Rockies while Stewart would be released in June of 2013 after a turbulent Cubs tenure.
The Cubs had a busy offseason from 2011-12, trading Carlos Zambrano to the Marlins for Chris Volstad, losing Aramis Ramirez to a three year deal with the Brewers, signing David DeJesus to a two year contract, adding Paul Maholm on a one year deal, and acquiring Travis Wood, Dave Sappelt and a prospect from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Sean Marshall. They also fired manager Mike Quade and replaced him with Milwaukee Brewers hitting coach Dale Sveum. Another big coaching staff move was the hire of Chris Bosio from the Brewers to be their pitching coach and has played a big part in the rejuvenation of many Cubs minor pickups.
Their biggest move of the offseason was when they traded former top prospect Andrew Cashner along with a prospect to the San Diego Padres, in exchange for top prospect Anthony Rizzo and pitching prospect Zach Cates. Rizzo had a rough big league debut hitting just .141/.281/.242, but his potential was sky high and he needed some more time to develop.
Jeff Samardzija was converted from a reliever into a starting pitcher and quickly became the ace of the staff posting a 3.81 ERA in 28 starts and 174.2 innings pitched before reaching an innings limit.
The 2012 Cubs tested the patience of many as they lost over 100 games for only the third time in team history, but they did have a few bright spots that indicated that the future was bright. Bryan LaHair was supposed to be a stop gap while Rizzo finished his development in AAA Iowa, but LaHair managed to hit .286/.364/.519 with 14 home runs in the first half and was named an All Star for the only time along with Starlin Castro who was making his second appearance. Alfonso Soriano hit 30 home runs for only the second time in his Cubs tenure and somehow managed to drive in a career high 108 runs.
Early in the season, the Cubs claimed middle infielder Luis Valbuena off of waivers from the Cleveland Indians and stashed him away in AAA. He would eventually serve as a key player and be traded in a big deal.
In the new Cubs front offices first draft, they drafted Albert Almora, Pierce Johnson (compensation pick for losing Aramis Ramirez) and Paul Blackburn (compensation pick for losing Carlos Pena).
The Cubs made some major trades for prospects that put them in full tank mode and would lead to some key players on future teams. First, they traded Paul Maholm and Reed Johnson to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for top relief prospect Arodys Vizcaino who had undergone Tommy John surgery that February and AAA reliever Jaye Chapman. Then, they traded Geovany Soto to the Texas Rangers for pitching prospect Jake Brigham (who would be returned to the Rangers for Barret Loux) and in a separate deal, they sent NL ERA leader Ryan Dempster to the Rangers for 3B prospect Christian Villanueva and SP prospect Kyle Hendricks.
During the offseason, the Cubs continued to change the identity of the squad. They signed Edwin Jackson, Carlos Villanueva, and Scott Feldman to bolster the rotation and Nate Schierholtz, Dioner Navarro, and Scott Hairston to add bench depth. In the Rule V draft, they selected Hector Rondon who has become the clear closer of the team. They also traded speedy outfielder and fan favorite Tony Campana to the Arizona Diamondbacks for two pitching prospects.
Edwin Jackson was the biggest of the bunch as he signed a four year $52 million dollar contract but pitched to a 5.37 ERA in 82 appearances (58 starts) and 374 innings pitched before being released in July of 2015.
In 2013, the Cubs would finish just 66-96 but had to deal with some key players having some very disappointing seasons. Starlin Castro hit just .245/.284/.347, Anthony Rizzo hit just .233/.323/.419, and Carlos Marmol pitched to a 5.86 ERA in 31 appearances and going just 2-5 in save opportunities before being unloaded to the Dodgers.
In the first round of the draft, the Cubs drafted Kris Bryant who very quickly became the Cubs top prospect and would become the Rookie of the Year winner in 2015.
The Cubs made a small trade by sending Scott Hairston to the Nationals in exchange for pitching prospect Ivan Pineyro. They made two major trades that July by trading Scott Feldman and back up catcher Steve Clevenger to the Baltimore Orioles for starting pitcher Jake Arrieta and reliever Pedro Strop. This trade has arguably been the best for Epstein and Hoyer as Arrieta has turned into a Cy Young winner after being considered one of the worst starters in the game and Strop has become a key reliever for the Cubs.
Their other big trade during July was when they traded Matt Garza to the Rangers in exchange for Carl Edwards Jr, Mike Olt, Justin Grimm, and Neil Ramirez. Although at the time, Edwards and Olt were considered the centerpiece of the deal, Ramirez and Grimm have turned into major pieces in the Cubs bullpen and Olt has been sent of to the White Sox while the jury is still out on Edwards.
After the season ended, the Cubs fired manager Dale Sveum and hired former San Diego Padres bench coach Ricky Renteria to serve as the manager.
The 2013-14 offseason was filled yet again with smaller moves with the Cubs signing Jason Hammel, Tsuyoshi Wada, Jose Veras and Wesley Wright to a one year contract and Chris Coghlan to a minor league deal. Later in the offseason, they would pick up Emilio Bonifacio as well.
2014 was really the Cubs last rebuilding season as they would finish 73-89, their most wins since 2010 and began to look like a competent big league ball club especially towards the end of the season. Anthony Rizzo had a breakout year hitting over 30 home runs, Starlin Castro rebounded to hit .292 with 14 home runs, Chris Coghlan hit .283/.352/.452 and turned into the Cubs starting left fielder.
In the first round of the Amateur Draft, the Cubs selected Indiana catcher-outfielder Kyle Schwarber. Schwarber has a ton of power and a great batting eye and would some some clutch home runs in the 2015 postseason for the Cubs.
On July 4th, the Cubs made some fireworks of their own by trading starting pitchers Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to the Oakland A’s for top prospects Addison Russell and Billy McKinney and starting pitcher Dan Straily. Russell has emerged as the Cubs starting shortstop and McKinney continues to be a top prospect.
The Cubs also began to call up some of their top prospects by first calling up Arismendy Alcantara in July and although he would just hit .205/.254/.367, he showed an ability to play multiple positions which was something the Cubs look for. They also called up Javier Baez and he would make his major league debut on August 5th going 1-6 with a game winning solo home run in the 12th. Jorge Soler was called up on August 27th and like Starlin Castro four years ago hit a homerun in his very first big league plate appearance against the Cincinnati Reds.
After the season ended, the Cubs would fire Rick Renteria because suddenly one of the top managers in the game would become available in Joe Maddon and the Cubs quickly scooped him up on a five year contract.
The Cubs made some very big offseason moves after the season by signing Jon Lester to a six year $155 million dollar contract which was the biggest contract in Cubs history at the time, they also traded for Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero for prospects and signed David Ross to a two year contract to be Lesters personal catcher. They also traded Luis Valbuena and Dan Straily to the Houston Astros for Dexter Fowler and re-signed Jason Hammel to a three year contract.
The 2015 Cubs signified the rebuild was over and they were ready to become a dynasty. They finished with the 3rd best record in baseball (97-65) and managed to finish third in their own division. Anthony Rizzo continued his emergence as one of the best players in baseball, Kris Bryant was called up and became a rookie sensation hitting .275/.369/.488 with 26 home runs and 99 RBI. Dexter Fowler had a career year scoring 102 runs and playing decent defense in center field.
On the pitching side, Jake Arrieta had one of the greatest, if not the best pitching season in Cubs history posting a 0.77 ERA in the second half alone and a 1.77 ERA overall on the season, including the Cubs' first no hitter since 2008 on his way to the Cy Young award. Jon Lester had a very good season, Jason Hammel had a rough second half after posting great numbers in the first half. Kyle Hendricks settled into a bottom of the rotation role and mid-season acquisition Dan Haren turned into a solid pickup for the Cubs even though he didn’t make the postseason roster.
In the postseason, the Cubs defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0, thanks to a complete game five-hitter from Jake Arrieta. In the NLDS, the Cubs would take on their top rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals. In Game One, the Cubs would be shut out 4-0, thanks to two late home runs by the Cardinals and lights out pitching by John Lackey. However, the Cubs would dominate the series from then on as they won the next three games, including their first series clinching win at Wrigley Field and second postseason series victory since 1908.
However, their fortunes would change against the New York Mets in the NLCS as they were swept thanks to the Mets' lights out starting pitching and Daniel Murphy homering in all four games of the series. The Cubs never had a lead in the series.
The Cubs have already had a major offseason as they have signed John Lackey to a two-year contract, Jason Heyward to an eight-year $184 million dollar contract which included two opt outs, and Ben Zobrist to a four year contract. They also made a trade that sent Starlin Castro to the Yankees in exchange for Adam Warren and Brendan Ryan.
So what does the future hold for the Chicago Cubs? We’re about to find out.