Chicago Cubs 2016-17 Offseason Review
The long 108-year drought ended on November 2, 2016, the Cubs coming back from a 3–1 deficit to take down the Cleveland Indians. After winning the World Series, Chicago shook their roster up this offseason.
The Chicago Cubs fans had a lot to cheer about at the end of 2016. The last time Chicago Cubs fans had something to celebrate about was 1908 when the club won their second consecutive World Series. Every Cub will cherish that moment for their ancestors and for the former Cubs players.
The way this Cubs team is built their World Series window shot is large. Thanks to president Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer this team will be able to compete for years. Chicago was tired of getting bullied by the St Louis Cardinals, so they assembled a team that can kick the Cardinals around and is now alone on top of the division. Many teams are trying to replicate the Chicago Cubs’ rebuilding plans.
The Cubs are living off of the “Embrace The Target” slogan by winning the World Series. Manager Joe Maddon came up with four new slogans to get the ball club back to having that same thirst to win the World Series. “Uncomfortable”, “Don’t Forget The Heartbeat”, “Authenticity”, and “’that’s Cubs”.
2016 Results:
103–58, Won the NL Central and the World Series Champions.
Key Arrivals:
Wade Davis (Closer), Former Team: Kansas City Royals
Jon Jay (OF), Former Team: San Diego Padres
Koji Uhera (RHP), Former Team: Boston Red Sox
Brett Anderson (LHP), Former Team: Los Angeles Dodgers
Brian Duensing(LHP), Former Team: Baltimore Orioles
Key Departures:
Dexter Fowler (OF) New Team: St. Louis Cardinals
Aroldis Chapman (Closer) New Team: New York Yankees
Travis Wood (LHP) New Team: Kansas City Royals
Jorge Soler (RF) New Team: Kansas City Royals
Jason Hammel (RHP) New Team: Kansas City Royals
Trevor Cahill (RHP) New Team: San Diego Padres
Chicago Cubs 2016 Story
2016 will be a year that each and every fan of the Cubs will remember for the rest of their life. The 2016 year was filled with excitement and highlight plays.
It all started when the Cubs were playing the Arizona Diamondbacks the first week of the season. Kyle Schwarber and Dexter Fowler were running after a ball that was hit deeply to center field, and Fowler made viscous contact with Schwarber’s leg. The next day Schwarber got evaluated and was diagnosed with a torn ACL and LCL.
That injury didn’t stop the Cubs from entertaining their fans as Jake Arrieta pitched a no-hitter against the Reds a few weeks later. After Arrieta’s no-hitter, the rest of the starting pitching started to bring fire to the mound every game.
The most surprising pitcher in Chicago’s rotation was Kyle Hendricks as he led MLB in ERA (2.13). Hendricks was the hero in Game 6 of the NLCS game facing Clayton Kershaw. He out-dueled one of the best pitchers in the game by pitching seven-and-one-third scoreless innings to secure a World Series slot.
Jon Lester had a great sophomore season as a Cub. He made a great case for the Cy Young by posting a 2.44 ERA, winning 19 games, and posting a 1.04 WHIP.
That wasn’t it for the Cubs pitching, the Cubs traded for Aroldis Chapman to help them close out games. Héctor Rondón was the Cubs closer to begin the season, but late game rallies caused Epstein to make a move on Chapman. solidifying a great closer helped make the Cubs more dangerous. The Cubs had to give up one of the best prospects in MLB to make this trade happen. Chicago gave up Gleyber Torres and Billy McKinney. Torres is fifth in the top 100 prospects according to Baseball America.
The reigning NL Rookie of the Year Kris Bryant didn’t hit a sophomore jinx, as he led an unstoppable Cubs offense, the third best offense in MLB at the end of the season based on runs. Chicago was also second overall in on-base percentage (.343).
The offense was loaded with Anthony Rizzo batting third or fourth in the lineup. Rizzo had a career year in Chicago; his slash line was .292/.385/.544 with 32 home runs and 109 RBI. A highlighted Rizzo defensive play came against the Milwaukee Brewers when he made another unbelievable catch in foul territory.
The World Series MVP put on a show for the Cubs. Ben Zobrist thrived in his role and came up clutch when the Cubs needed him most. Zobrist played second base and outfield, wherever Maddon needed him — he played the position.
The young all-around guys came up huge for the Cubs in 2016 — Addison Russell, Javier Báez, and Willson Contreras. Russell had a dominant second year at the plate, he showed he can hang with the big boys in the lineup by hitting 21 home runs and 95 RBI, but his defensive plays are what excited fans the most.
Javier Báez showed his flashiness all over the baseball diamond. Joe Maddon had no choice but to keep Báez in the lineup throughout the playoffs because of how good his breath-taking fielding.
Contreras made an impact as soon as he came up to the big leagues. He hit a two-run home run in his first major league at-bat in a 10–5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Jason Heyward story had everybody wondering in Chicago if he was going to get his mojo back. They waited all season, and even through the postseason, but it didn’t come. Heyward’s best moment in 2016 was when he hit a walk-off single to secure a win against the San Francisco Giants on September 4. Heyward was great on defense though, as expected.
Down 3–1 against the Cleveland Indians in the World Series was the most painful situation to go through if you were cheering for the Cubs. The fight, the heart, the resilience, and teamwork is what allowed the Cubs to end the 108-year curse.
The Offseason
Since that wonderful Game 7 took place, a lot has happened to the Cubs organization. For instance, Dexter Fowler went and signed with the St. Louis Cardinals on a five-year, $82.5 million deal. Aroldis Chapman left and took his arm to the New York Yankees on a lucrative five-year, $86 million deal. Jason Hammel, Jorge Soler and Travis Wood all eventually made their way to the Kansas City Royals. Chris Coghlan ended up heading to the Philadelphia Phillies.
The offseason wasn’t a total bust, though. Jon Jay, the former San Diego Padres center fielder will make an excellent fit in a platoon role for the Cubs. Wade Davis, arguably one of the best closers in the game when he is healthy, will most likely be taking on Chapman’s role.
As for Koji Uehara, he will make a good replacement for Travis Wood. Even though Uehara is good he won’t be able to replace Wood’s versatility. The Cubs didn’t make a lot of moves this offseason but they filled the positions that needed filling.
What Wasn’t Answered?
The Cubs answered all of their questions heading into this season. They will look to get a full year of Kyle Schwarber, a full year of Wilson Contreras, and they replaced their closer with one of the best pitchers in MLB just two years ago. Chicago bolstered their bullpen by adding Uehara, Brian Duensing, and Wade Davis. Chicago plans to replace Dexter Fowler with Jay and Albert Almora Jr.
Chicago needed back-end of rotation help, but they fixed that problem by signing Brett Anderson and will give him or left-handed pitcher Mike Montgomery a shot at the starting pitching role.
The Chicago Cubs are one of the most complete teams in MLB top to bottom.
2017 Outlook
The Cubs will try to repeat like they did in 1907 and 1908. Chicago has a new look at the top of the order since Fowler left; the Cubs will insert Kyle Schwarber as the leadoff man. The reasoning behind that is so the pitchers will have to stay honest in pitching to Schwarber. Also, the next man after him will see more fastballs.
Chicago will get a good look at their new closer Wade Davis who had a 1.87 ERA and 1.13 WHIP last season. Maddon likes Davis because of his postseason stats as well; Davis has a 0.84 ERA in the postseason.
In the bullpen, Chicago has a lot of options to go with. Pedro Strop is one of the key set-up guys in the bullpen, he’s worked to an overall ERA of 2.68 in 211 1/3 innings in Chicago.
Another guy in the bullpen rotation is their former closer, Rondón. He is another go-to guy for the Cubs to get critical outs late in ball games. Rondón spent some time on the disabled last year with a triceps injury in 2016. The former closer has a career 2.97 ERA since joining the Cubs.
Mike Montgomery was added to the starting rotation in the offseason after having a tremendous 2016 season. Montgomery was the pitcher on the mound for the last out in the World Series. His stats last season were unbelievable: he had a 2.82 ERA and only five home runs allowed. His K/9 went up to 8.9 last year from 7.9 in 2015.
Chicago on paper still has one of the best pitching rotations in MLB featuring Lester (Ace), Arrieta (2015 Cy Young), Kyle Hendricks (lowest ERA 2016), John Lackey (3X World Champion) and Montgomery (2.82 ERA last year).
Last year the Cubs’ entire infield was in the All-Star Game, and they will be returning all of them. Bryant is coming off an amazing MVP season, Russell is coming off a rising offensive year, Zobrist was the World Series MVP, and Rizzo is the captain of the team.
This team is poised for a repeat.
