President of baseball ops: Theo Epstein · GM: Jed Hoyer
2018: made playoffs · 95–68. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Javier Báez | 25 | arb | 160 | 5.8 | 0.7 | +19.2 |
| Anthony Rizzo | 28 | FA-elig | 153 | 3.3 | 7.3 | +3.9 |
| Kyle Hendricks | 28 | arb | 33 | 3.1 | 4.2 | +6.4 |
| Ben Zobrist | 37 | FA-elig | 139 | 2.9 | 16.5 | -6.5 |
| Kris Bryant | 26 | arb | 102 | 2.8 | 10.8 | -1.3 |
| Addison Russell | 24 | arb | 130 | 2.3 | 3.2 | +4.7 |
| Kyle Schwarber | 25 | arb | 137 | 2.2 | 0.6 | +7.1 |
| Albert Almora Jr. | 24 | pre-arb | 152 | 2.1 | 0.6 | +6.6 |
| Jon Lester | 34 | FA-elig | 34 | 1.8 | 27.5 | -21.5 |
| Jason Heyward | 28 | FA-elig | 127 | 1.7 | 28.2 | -22.3 |
| Cole Hamels↔ TEX | 34 | FA-elig | 12 | 1.7 | 8.8 | -3.1 |
| Mike Montgomery | 28 | arb | 39 | 1.4 | 0.6 | +4.0 |
| Jose Quintana | 29 | FA-elig | 32 | 1.2 | 8.8 | -4.6 |
| Carl Edwards Jr. | 26 | arb | 58 | 1.1 | 0.6 | +3.3 |
| Jesse Chavez↔ TEX | 34 | FA-elig | 32 | 1.1 | 0.6 | +3.2 |
| Willson Contreras | 26 | pre-arb | 138 | 1.0 | 0.6 | +2.8 |
| Ian Happ | 23 | pre-arb | 142 | 1.0 | 0.6 | +2.8 |
| Pedro Strop | 33 | FA-elig | 60 | 0.9 | 5.8 | -2.9 |
| Steve Cishek | 32 | FA-elig | 80 | 0.8 | 6.5 | -3.7 |
| David Bote | 25 | – | 74 | 0.8 | 0.3 | +2.4 |
| Brandon Morrow | 33 | FA-elig | 35 | 0.6 | 9.0 | -6.8 |
| Justin Wilson | 30 | FA-elig | 71 | 0.6 | 4.2 | -2.4 |
| Jorge De La Rosa↔ ARI | 37 | FA-elig | 17 | 0.5 | 0.6 | +1.1 |
| Alec Mills | 26 | pre-arb | 7 | 0.5 | 0.1 | +1.5 |
| Daniel Murphy↔ WSN | 33 | FA-elig | 35 | 0.3 | 6.7 | -5.9 |
| Anthony Bass | 30 | arb | 16 | 0.2 | 0.2 | +0.6 |
| Yu Darvish | 31 | FA-elig | 8 | 0.2 | 25.0 | -24.4 |
| James Norwood | 24 | – | 11 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +0.3 |
| Tommy La Stella | 29 | arb | 123 | 0.1 | 0.9 | -0.5 |
| Eddie Butler↔ TEX | 27 | arb | 8 | 0.1 | 0.2 | +0.2 |
| Mark Zagunis | 25 | pre-arb | 5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +0.2 |
| Terrance Gore | 27 | pre-arb | 14 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +0.2 |
| Cory Mazzoni | 28 | pre-arb | 8 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +0.2 |
| Jaime García↔ TOR | 31 | FA-elig | 8 | 0.0 | 1.9 | -1.8 |
| Taylor Davis | 28 | pre-arb | 5 | 0.0 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Mike Freeman | 30 | pre-arb | 1 | -0.0 | 0.0 | -0.1 |
| Jen-Ho Tseng | 23 | pre-arb | 1 | -0.0 | 0.0 | -0.1 |
| Rob Zastryzny | 26 | pre-arb | 6 | -0.0 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Justin Hancock | 27 | – | 10 | -0.1 | 0.4 | -0.6 |
| Efren Navarro | 32 | – | 4 | -0.1 | 0.0 | -0.3 |
| Duane Underwood Jr. | 23 | – | 1 | -0.1 | 0.0 | -0.3 |
| Allen Webster | 28 | pre-arb | 3 | -0.1 | 0.0 | -0.3 |
| Randy Rosario | 24 | pre-arb | 44 | -0.2 | 0.4 | -1.0 |
| Dillon Maples | 26 | pre-arb | 9 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.7 |
| Chris Gimenez↔ MIN | 35 | – | 12 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.7 |
| Luke Farrell | 27 | – | 20 | -0.3 | 0.2 | -1.1 |
| Brandon Kintzler↔ WSN | 33 | FA-elig | 25 | -0.3 | 1.8 | -2.8 |
| Victor Caratini | 24 | pre-arb | 76 | -0.3 | 0.4 | -1.5 |
| Tyler Chatwood | 28 | FA-elig | 25 | -0.4 | 12.5 | -13.8 |
| Brian Duensing | 35 | FA-elig | 48 | -0.9 | 3.5 | -6.5 |
| Player | fWAR |
|---|---|
| Cole Hamels | 1.7 |
| Jesse Chavez | 1.1 |
| Steve Cishek | 0.8 |
| David Bote | 0.8 |
| Brandon Morrow | 0.6 |
| Jorge De La Rosa | 0.5 |
| Player | 2017 fWAR |
|---|---|
| Jake Arrieta | 2.6 |
| Jon Jay | 1.2 |
| Wade Davis | 1.1 |
| René Rivera | 0.7 |
| Koji Uehara | 0.6 |
| Miguel Montero | 0.6 |
What the front office was committed to as of 2018, 2018–2024. Guaranteed $ are contract commitments signed by 2018; arbitration & free-agent years are projected from service time. Hover a figure for its luxury-tax (CBT) & actual-cash values.
| Player | Age | Svc | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Heyward | 28 | 8.000 | $28.2M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Jon Lester | 34 | 11.075 | $27.5M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Yu Darvish | 31 | 6.000 | $25.0M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Ben Zobrist | 37 | 10.134 | $16.5M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Tyler Chatwood | 28 | 6.039 | $12.5M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Brandon Morrow | 33 | 9.086 | $9.0M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Cole Hamels | 34 | 11.143 | $8.8M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Daniel Murphy | 33 | 8.109 | $6.7M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Steve Cishek | 32 | 6.143 | $6.5M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Pedro Strop | 33 | 6.156 | $5.8M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Brian Duensing | 35 | 8.055 | $3.5M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Jaime García | 31 | 9.047 | $1.9M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Brandon Kintzler | 33 | 6.003 | $1.8M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Jorge De La Rosa | 37 | 14.000 | $638k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Jesse Chavez | 34 | 7.108 | $569k | FREE AGENT |
| Player | Age | Svc | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jose Quintana | 29 | 5.133 | $8.8M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Anthony Rizzo | 28 | 5.168 | $7.3M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Justin Wilson | 30 | 5.035 | $4.2M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Kyle Hendricks | 28 | 3.080 | $4.2M | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |||
| Tommy La Stella | 29 | 4.000 | $950k | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Carl Edwards Jr. | 26 | 3.000 | $594k | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |||
| Anthony Bass | 30 | 3.159 | $182k | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |||
| Chris Gimenez | 35 | 5.163 | $55k | FREE AGENT |
| Player | Age | Svc | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kris Bryant | 26 | 2.171 | $10.8M | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Addison Russell | 24 | 2.167 | $3.2M | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Javier Báez | 25 | 2.089 | $657k | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Mike Montgomery | 28 | 2.089 | $611k | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Kyle Schwarber | 25 | 2.086 | $604k | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Willson Contreras | 26 | 1.108 | $604k | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |
| Albert Almora Jr. | 24 | 1.073 | $584k | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |
| Ian Happ | 23 | 0.142 | $570k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Victor Caratini | 24 | 0.075 | $433k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Randy Rosario | 24 | 0.010 | $355k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Justin Hancock | 27 | – | $355k | ||||||
| David Bote | 25 | 0.000 | $293k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Luke Farrell | 27 | 0.031 | $188k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Eddie Butler | 27 | 1.141 | $152k | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |
| James Norwood | 24 | 0.000 | $132k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Dillon Maples | 26 | 0.031 | $117k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Mark Zagunis | 25 | 0.010 | $97k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Taylor Davis | 28 | 0.027 | $88k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Terrance Gore | 27 | 1.000 | $88k | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |
| Alec Mills | 26 | 0.022 | $82k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Rob Zastryzny | 26 | 0.079 | $62k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Cory Mazzoni | 28 | 0.093 | $50k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Allen Webster | 28 | 0.157 | $35k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Mike Freeman | 30 | 0.106 | $26k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Efren Navarro | 32 | 2.072 | $15k | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Jen-Ho Tseng | 23 | 0.020 | $3k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Duane Underwood Jr. | 23 | 0.000 | $3k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
Every roster slot ranked best→worst by WAR. Bars = Cubs 2018; 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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