President of baseball ops: Theo Epstein · GM: Jed Hoyer
2015: made playoffs · 97–65. Ranks are vs the 30 teams that season.
Each position lists its starter then backups by games (so platoons & bench show). Starters (mound) & bullpen (left, foul territory) are ranked by WAR; ★ marks the closer (most save chances). MLB Stats API.
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jake Arrieta | 29 | arb | 33 | 7.3 | 3.6 | +19.3 |
| Kris Bryant | 23 | – | 151 | 6.1 | 0.5 | +18.8 |
| Anthony Rizzo | 25 | arb | 160 | 5.2 | 5.0 | +11.5 |
| Jon Lester | 31 | FA-elig | 32 | 4.5 | 20.0 | -5.9 |
| Chris Coghlan | 30 | FA-elig | 148 | 3.1 | 2.5 | +7.4 |
| Miguel Montero | 31 | FA-elig | 113 | 3.1 | 12.0 | -2.2 |
| Dexter Fowler | 29 | FA-elig | 156 | 3.0 | 9.5 | -0.2 |
| Kyle Hendricks | 25 | pre-arb | 32 | 2.7 | 0.5 | +8.1 |
| Addison Russell | 21 | – | 142 | 2.6 | 0.5 | +7.6 |
| Jason Hammel | 32 | FA-elig | 32 | 2.3 | 9.0 | -1.7 |
| Kyle Schwarber | 22 | – | 69 | 1.8 | 0.2 | +5.4 |
| Héctor Rondón | 27 | pre-arb | 72 | 1.6 | 0.5 | +4.4 |
| Travis Wood | 28 | arb | 60 | 1.2 | 5.7 | -2.0 |
| Pedro Strop | 30 | FA-elig | 76 | 1.0 | 2.5 | +0.6 |
| Justin Grimm | 26 | arb | 62 | 0.6 | 0.5 | +1.3 |
| Starlin Castro | 25 | arb | 151 | 0.6 | 6.9 | -5.0 |
| Chris Denorfia | 34 | FA-elig | 103 | 0.4 | 2.6 | -1.2 |
| Clayton Richard | 31 | arb | 23 | 0.4 | 0.2 | +1.2 |
| Javier Báez | 22 | pre-arb | 28 | 0.4 | 0.1 | +1.3 |
| Jason Motte | 33 | FA-elig | 57 | 0.4 | 4.5 | -3.2 |
| Edwin Jackson↔ ATL | 31 | FA-elig | 23 | 0.3 | 6.9 | -5.9 |
| David Ross | 38 | FA-elig | 72 | 0.3 | 2.5 | -1.7 |
| Jorge Soler | 23 | pre-arb | 101 | 0.3 | 2.7 | -1.9 |
| Dan Haren↔ MIA | 34 | FA-elig | 11 | 0.2 | 3.3 | -2.7 |
| Tommy La Stella | 26 | pre-arb | 33 | 0.2 | 0.5 | +0.1 |
| Trevor Cahill↔ ATL | 27 | FA-elig | 11 | 0.2 | 5.1 | -4.5 |
| Tsuyoshi Wada | 34 | pre-arb | 8 | 0.2 | 4.0 | -3.5 |
| Dallas Beeler | 26 | pre-arb | 3 | 0.1 | 0.5 | -0.0 |
| Donn Roach | 25 | – | 1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +0.3 |
| Neil Ramírez | 26 | pre-arb | 19 | 0.1 | 0.5 | -0.2 |
| Gonzalez Germen↔ COL | 27 | – | 6 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +0.2 |
| Fernando Rodney↔ SEA | 38 | FA-elig | 14 | 0.1 | 1.4 | -1.2 |
| Phil Coke↔ TOR | 32 | FA-elig | 16 | 0.1 | 2.0 | -1.8 |
| James Russell | 29 | arb | 49 | 0.0 | 0.3 | -0.2 |
| Quintin Berry | 30 | pre-arb | 8 | 0.0 | 0.1 | +0.0 |
| Austin Jackson↔ SEA | 28 | arb | 29 | 0.0 | 1.6 | -1.5 |
| Carl Edwards Jr. | 23 | – | 5 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Yoervis Medina↔ SEA | 26 | pre-arb | 5 | -0.0 | 0.2 | -0.2 |
| Mike Baxter | 30 | pre-arb | 34 | -0.1 | 0.0 | -0.2 |
| Matt Szczur | 25 | pre-arb | 47 | -0.1 | 0.5 | -0.7 |
| Welington Castillo↔ ARI | 28 | arb | 24 | -0.1 | 0.5 | -0.7 |
| Mike Olt↔ CHW | 26 | arb | 6 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.4 |
| Taylor Teagarden | 31 | arb | 8 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.5 |
| Junior Lake↔ BAL | 25 | – | 21 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.7 |
| Tommy Hunter↔ BAL | 28 | FA-elig | 19 | -0.2 | 1.5 | -2.1 |
| Rafael Soriano | 35 | – | 6 | -0.2 | 4.1 | -4.8 |
| Jonathan Herrera | 30 | FA-elig | 73 | -0.2 | 0.9 | -1.6 |
| Brian Schlitter | 29 | pre-arb | 10 | -0.3 | 0.1 | -0.9 |
| Arismendy Alcántara | 23 | pre-arb | 11 | -0.3 | 0.5 | -1.5 |
| Zac Rosscup | 27 | pre-arb | 33 | -0.4 | 0.4 | -1.6 |
| Player | fWAR |
|---|---|
| Kris Bryant | 6.1 |
| Jon Lester | 4.5 |
| Miguel Montero | 3.1 |
| Dexter Fowler | 3.0 |
| Addison Russell | 2.6 |
| Kyle Schwarber | 1.8 |
| Player | 2014 fWAR |
|---|---|
| Luis Valbuena | 3.2 |
| Jeff Samardzija | 2.4 |
| Emilio Bonifácio | 1.8 |
| Carlos Villanueva | 1.1 |
| Justin Ruggiano | 0.5 |
| Darwin Barney | 0.4 |
What the front office was committed to as of 2015, 2015–2021. Guaranteed $ are contract commitments signed by 2015; arbitration & free-agent years are projected from service time. Hover a figure for its luxury-tax (CBT) & actual-cash values.
| Player | Age | Svc | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jon Lester | 31 | 8.075 | $20.0M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Miguel Montero | 31 | 8.031 | $12.0M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Jason Hammel | 32 | 7.153 | $9.0M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Edwin Jackson | 31 | 9.070 | $6.9M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Jason Motte | 33 | 6.027 | $4.5M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Rafael Soriano | 35 | 12.057 | $4.1M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Dan Haren | 34 | 10.154 | $3.3M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Chris Denorfia | 34 | 7.041 | $2.6M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| David Ross | 38 | 13.001 | $2.5M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Phil Coke | 32 | 6.028 | $2.0M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Fernando Rodney | 38 | 11.137 | $1.4M | FREE AGENT |
| Player | Age | Svc | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dexter Fowler | 29 | 5.168 | $9.5M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Starlin Castro | 25 | 4.150 | $6.9M | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Travis Wood | 28 | 4.004 | $5.7M | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Trevor Cahill | 27 | 5.160 | $5.1M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Jake Arrieta | 29 | 3.145 | $3.6M | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |||
| Pedro Strop | 30 | 3.156 | $2.5M | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |||
| Chris Coghlan | 30 | 4.148 | $2.5M | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Austin Jackson | 28 | 5.000 | $1.6M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Tommy Hunter | 28 | 5.090 | $1.5M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Jonathan Herrera | 30 | 4.101 | $900k | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Welington Castillo | 28 | 3.009 | $458k | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |||
| James Russell | 29 | 5.000 | $327k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Clayton Richard | 31 | 5.070 | $222k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Taylor Teagarden | 31 | 4.007 | $80k | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Player | Age | Svc | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Rizzo | 25 | 2.168 | $5.0M | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Tsuyoshi Wada | 34 | 1.145 | $4.0M | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |
| Jorge Soler | 23 | 0.033 | $2.7M | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Héctor Rondón | 27 | 2.000 | $544k | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Justin Grimm | 26 | 1.170 | $532k | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |
| Neil Ramírez | 26 | 0.158 | $514k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Tommy La Stella | 26 | 1.000 | $513k | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |
| Kyle Hendricks | 25 | 0.080 | $510k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Arismendy Alcántara | 23 | 0.082 | $510k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Matt Szczur | 25 | 0.043 | $508k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Dallas Beeler | 26 | 0.050 | $508k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Kris Bryant | 23 | 0.000 | $471k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Addison Russell | 21 | 0.000 | $460k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Zac Rosscup | 27 | 0.123 | $435k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Kyle Schwarber | 22 | 0.000 | $233k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Yoervis Medina | 26 | 2.079 | $155k | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Mike Olt | 26 | 1.030 | $104k | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |
| Quintin Berry | 30 | 1.018 | $92k | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |
| Javier Báez | 22 | 0.055 | $92k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Junior Lake | 25 | 1.073 | $75k | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |
| Brian Schlitter | 29 | 2.029 | $63k | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Mike Baxter | 30 | 2.145 | $42k | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Gonzalez Germen | 27 | 1.135 | $36k | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |
| Donn Roach | 25 | 1.066 | $19k | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |
| Carl Edwards Jr. | 23 | 0.000 | — | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
Every roster slot ranked best→worst by WAR. Bars = Cubs 2015; the black line = the league-average player at each slot that season. Staying above the line deep into the roster is the depth edge; dropping below it = holes & dead weight.
| Regime | Seasons | Win % | Playoff % | Pennant % | WS % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WINDOW | 289 | 52.2 | 30.1 | 4.8 | 1.0 |
| CONTEND | 311 | 56.8 | 63.0 | 19.3 | 10.3 |
| FORCED-SPEND | 260 | 47.9 | 8.8 | 1.2 | 1.2 |
| REBUILD | 328 | 43.3 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
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