Cubs Blowing it up
In 2016 the Chicago Cubs stopped their 108 year drought and won a world series. 2016 had one of the best world series of all time. It went to seven games, the Cubs came back from a 3-1 deficit and both teams were in a world series drought, both the Cubs and the Cleveland Indians. This Cubs roster will go down in history as one of their best, but unfortunately this talented roster wasn't able to stick together for much longer.
It wasn't till the 2021 deadline where the Cubs would decide to blow it up, but the team has never really been the same after 2016. The Cubs had a few decent years in between there but never won a single playoff game. In the years they did make the playoffs they could never pull off a playoff win leading to the downfall for the Cubs. In 2017 they lost to the Cardinals in the wild card, in 2018 they lost to the Rockies in the wild card, and in 2020 they lost to the Marlins in the wild card.
In 2021 they were having their first season under 500 and the general manager decided it was time to blow it all up. Andrew Chafin was dealt to Oakland to help out their bullpen. Joc Perderson, who just signed with the Cubs to help them compete, was dealt to the Braves and wound up being an important piece to their World Series win. Jake Masrisnick was dealt to the Padres for a pitching prospect. The Cubs dealt away their two best relievers at the time with Craig Kimbrel and Ryan Tepera to the White Sox for Nick Madrigal and a younger reliever in Codi Heuer. Then the big three were dealt away that helped this Chicago team win their World Series. Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Javeier Baez all left the Cubs. Kris Bryant was dealt to the San Francisco Giants that was used as a rental. Bryant then went on to sign with the Rockies. The Cubs received Caleb Killian who has not seen too much success at the Major league level. Anthony Rizzo was traded to the Yankees and they received Kevin Alcantara. Alcantara is still looking like a top prospect for the Cubs. Lastly Javier Baez was traded to the Mets and in return they got Pete Crow-Armstrong, a prospect who probably has the most promise out of all of them. Baez was used as a rental for the Mets and then went on to sign a massive contract with the Detroit Tigers.
The question is was this the right move? It wound up working out pretty well for the Cubs. Their return wasn't the best for these guys, but their production has not been worth their contracts. This was a tough decision for the Cubs because they knew they weren't going to be able to afford everyone, which I think helped them make the decision to blow it up. Anthony Rizzo has regressed but has been the best out of the three. Still would be considered overpaid by the Yankees. Kris Bryant signed a massive deal with the Rockies and he hasn't been able to stay healthy, Bryant’s contract is looking like one of the worst in the league. Baez’s game has regressed the most. Baez has turned into one the worst players in baseball and now the Tigers also have one of the worst contracts in all of baseball. If it wasn't for Anthony Rendon, Baez would probably have the worst contract in baseball.
It seems the Cubs dodged a serious bullet with these guys. If they had any money tied up, they would be in a significantly worse position. Usually blow ups are never good for an organization and it leaves the fans all very upset. With that said the Cubs definitely made the right move trading everyone away in 2021.
Kommentare