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Cubs CHC

201473–89 (0.451)
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President of baseball ops: Theo Epstein · GM: Jed Hoyer

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 2014, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$66M
Surplus $M
+40
Win %
0.451
TAB
+8.0
WAB
-2.0
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
35.7
Dead money %
35%
Depth Players
8.0
Dead WAR
-5.8

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

2014 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RWelington Castillo106
LJohn Baker55
REli Whiteside8
LRaffy Lopez4

1B

LAnthony Rizzo140
RChris Valaika15
RMike Olt12

2B

RDarwin Barney⇄72
BArismendy Alcántara25
RJavier Báez25
LLuis Valbuena21
LLogan Watkins16
RChris Valaika12

3B

LLuis Valbuena124
RMike Olt52
RChris Valaika8
BEmilio Bonifácio⇄7

SS

RStarlin Castro133
RJavier Báez30
RChris Valaika2

LF

LChris Coghlan101
RJunior Lake53
LRyan Kalish18
LRyan Sweeney12
RJustin Ruggiano10
RMatt Szczur6

CF

BArismendy Alcántara48
RJunior Lake36
LRyan Sweeney24
RJustin Ruggiano18
LRyan Kalish11
RMatt Szczur9

RF

RJustin Ruggiano34
RJorge Soler24
LRyan Sweeney22
RMatt Szczur13
LRyan Kalish11
LChris Coghlan4
LLogan Watkins2
RJunior Lake1

DH

RMike Olt3
LRyan Sweeney2
LLuis Valbuena2
LLogan Watkins1
LChris Coghlan1
RMatt Szczur1
LNate Schierholtz⇄1

Starters

RJake Arrieta5.6 WAR
RJeff Samardzija⇄2.4 WAR
LTravis Wood2.4 WAR
RJason Hammel⇄2.1 WAR
RKyle Hendricks1.7 WAR
RCarlos Villanueva1.1 WAR
LTsuyoshi Wada0.8 WAR
REdwin Jackson0.8 WAR
RDallas Beeler0.2 WAR
RDan Straily⇄0.1 WAR
LFelix Doubront⇄0.1 WAR
RJacob Turner⇄0.0 WAR
LEric Jokisch-0.2 WAR

Bullpen

★ RHector Rondon29 sv
RPedro Strop21 h
RNeil Ramirez16 h
RBrian Schlitter12 h
RJustin Grimm11 h
LWesley Wright9 h
RBlake Parker1 h
LJames Russell⇄0 h

Each position shows its top 3 by games (top = starter) — click "+more" for the rest. The letter is bats/throws; ⇄ marks a player traded mid-season. Starters are ranked by WAR, bullpen by holds; ★ marks the closer (most save chances). MLB Stats API.

Key additions (new vs 2013)

PlayerfWAR
Chris Coghlan2.4
Jason Hammel2.1
Emilio Bonifácio1.8
Kyle Hendricks1.7
Neil Ramírez0.9
Tsuyoshi Wada0.8

Key subtractions (gone from 2013)

Player2013 fWAR
Dioner Navarro2.2
David DeJesus1.8
Scott Feldman1.3
Matt Garza1.1
Brian Bogusevic0.9
Cody Ransom0.5

Contract Value

WAR translated into tier-adjusted market value, then compared with what the player was paid by Cubs. Guaranteed contracts from the 2015-present contract-data period use the known contract period through 2014; everyone else is shown as a 2014 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Jake Arrieta 2014 +5.6 +111.9 0.5 +111.4 $0.1M 2.50× –
Anthony Rizzo 2014 +5.3 +58.5 1.2 +57.3 $0.2M 1.37× –
Luis Valbuena 2014 +3.2 +28.9 1.7 +27.2 $0.5M 1.12× –
Héctor Rondón 2014 +1.7 +26.4 0.5 +25.9 $0.3M 1.95× –
Jeff Samardzija↔ 2014 +2.4 +28.4 2.8 +25.6 $1.2M 1.49× –
Starlin Castro 2014 +3.2 +30.2 5.0 +25.2 $1.6M 1.18× –
Travis Wood 2014 +2.4 +28.1 3.9 +24.2 $1.6M 1.49× –
Chris Coghlan 2014 +2.4 +23.0 0.7 +22.3 $0.3M 1.22× –
Jason Hammel↔ 2014 +2.1 +24.9 3.4 +21.5 $1.6M 1.49× –
Kyle Hendricks 2014 +1.7 +20.6 0.2 +20.4 $0.1M 1.49× –
Emilio Bonifácio↔ 2014 +1.8 +12.5 1.6 +10.9 $0.9M 0.85× –
Pedro Strop 2014 +1.1 +12.0 1.3 +10.7 $1.2M 1.34× –
Tsuyoshi Wada 2014 +0.8 +6.7 0.2 +6.5 $0.2M 1.02× –
Arismendy Alcántara 2014 +0.7 +4.5 0.2 +4.3 $0.3M 0.83× –
Neil Ramírez 2014 +0.9 +4.7 0.4 +4.2 $0.5M 0.67× –
Justin Grimm 2014 +0.7 +3.6 0.5 +3.1 $0.8M 0.67× –
Jorge Soler 2014 +0.7 +4.9 2.7 +2.3 $3.6M 0.83× Free Agent · 2024–2026 · $14.0M AAV
Brian Schlitter 2014 +0.4 +2.0 0.4 +1.6 $1.2M 0.67× –
Dallas Beeler 2014 +0.2 +1.4 0.0 +1.4 $0.0M 1.02× –
Justin Ruggiano 2014 +0.5 +3.2 2.0 +1.2 $4.1M 0.83× –
Carlos Villanueva 2014 +1.1 +6.0 5.0 +1.0 $4.4M 0.67× –
Welington Castillo 2014 +0.3 +1.4 0.5 +0.9 $1.5M 0.52× –
Blake Parker 2014 +0.2 +0.9 0.2 +0.8 $0.9M 0.67× –
Ryan Sweeney 2014 +0.4 +2.3 1.5 +0.8 $4.2M 0.83× –
Félix Doubront↔ 2014 +0.1 +0.7 0.1 +0.6 $1.3M 1.02× –
Dan Straily↔ 2014 +0.1 +0.5 0.3 +0.3 $2.5M 0.67× –
Arodys Vizcaíno 2014 -0.0 -0.2 0.1 -0.3 – 0.67× –
Matt Szczur 2014 -0.0 -0.3 0.1 -0.4 – 0.83× –
Raffy Lopez 2014 -0.1 -0.3 0.1 -0.4 – 0.52× –
Zac Rosscup 2014 -0.1 -0.3 0.3 -0.5 – 0.67× –
Chris Rusin 2014 -0.0 -0.1 0.5 -0.6 – 0.67× –
Eric Jokisch 2014 -0.2 -1.1 0.1 -1.2 – 0.67× –
James Russell↔ 2014 -0.1 -0.5 1.2 -1.6 – 0.67× –
Logan Watkins 2014 -0.4 -1.6 0.1 -1.7 – 0.56× –
Mike Olt 2014 -0.5 -2.1 0.5 -2.6 – 0.58× –
Jose Veras↔ 2014 -0.3 -1.7 1.0 -2.7 – 0.67× –
Junior Lake 2014 -0.4 -2.7 0.5 -3.2 – 0.83× –
Ryan Kalish 2014 -0.4 -2.7 0.6 -3.2 – 0.83× –
Javier Báez 2014 -0.8 -3.7 0.2 -3.9 – 0.61× Free Agent · 2022–2027 · $23.3M AAV
Edwin Jackson 2014 +0.8 +6.8 11.0 -4.2 $13.1M 1.02× –
Kyuji Fujikawa 2014 -0.0 -0.1 4.5 -4.6 – 0.67× –
John Baker 2014 -1.2 -4.8 0.9 -5.7 – 0.52× –
Nate Schierholtz↔ 2014 -0.9 -4.7 4.1 -8.8 – 0.69× –
Darwin Barney↔ 2014 +0.4 +1.8 1.8 +0.0 $4.5M 0.56× –
Jacob Turner↔ 2014 +0.0 +0.1 0.1 +0.0 $6.2M 1.02× –
Wesley Wright 2014 +0.3 +1.5 1.4 +0.0 $5.2M 0.67× –
Chris Valaika 2014 -0.1 -0.3 – – – 0.56× –
Eli Whiteside 2014 -0.5 -2.0 – – – 0.52× –
Total—+35.5+429.265.9+366.0—

Trades

Every graded 2014 deal involving the Cubs — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 9 total.

2014 · CHC / OAK
CHC · Theo Epstein +$59.2M
Dan Straily, Addison Russell, Billy McKinney
OAK · Billy Beane −$59.2M
Jeff Samardzija, Jason Hammel
CHC came out ahead by $59.2M
2014 · CHC / BOS
CHC · Theo Epstein +$5.6M
Félix Doubront
BOS · Ben Cherington −$5.6M
Marco Hernández
CHC came out ahead by $5.6M
2014 · ATL / CHC
ATL · John Hart +$0.0M
Arodys Vizcaíno
CHC · Theo Epstein +$0.0M
Tommy La Stella
Even trade
2014 · ARI / CHC
ARI · Kevin Towers +$40.8M
Zack Godley, Jeferson Mejia
CHC · Theo Epstein −$40.8M
Miguel Montero
ARI came out ahead by $40.8M
2014 · CHC / ATL
CHC · Theo Epstein +$4.0M
Víctor Caratini
ATL · John Hart −$4.0M
James Russell, Emilio Bonifácio
CHC came out ahead by $4.0M
2014 · CHC / MIA
CHC · Theo Epstein +$0.0M
Jacob Turner
MIA · Dan Jennings +$0.0M
Tyler Bremer, Jose Arias
Even trade
2014 · LAD / CHC
LAD · Ned Colletti +$0.8M
Darwin Barney
CHC · Theo Epstein −$0.8M
Jonathan Martinez
LAD came out ahead by $0.8M
2014 · CHC / ARI
CHC · Theo Epstein +$0.8M
Blake Cooper
ARI · Kevin Towers −$0.8M
Brett Jackson
CHC came out ahead by $0.8M
2014 · CHC / SEA
CHC · Theo Epstein +$4.0M
Matt Brazis
SEA · Jack Zduriencik −$4.0M
Justin Ruggiano
CHC came out ahead by $4.0M

Current & Historical Payroll

2014 payroll
$65.5M

What the front office was committed to as of 2014, 2014–2020. Pre-2015 has no contract-terms data — forward italic $ are realized actuals (hindsight, not commitments known then). Control labels (ARB/FA) are point-in-time.

current $ guaranteed $ actual $ (hindsight) arbitration (proj) pre-arb (proj) free agent

Guaranteed / signed (6)

PlayerAgeSvc2014201520162017201820192020
Edwin Jackson308.070$11.0M$7.1MFREE AGENT
Carlos Villanueva307.030$5.0MFREE AGENT
Jason Hammel316.153$3.4M$9.0M$9.0MFREE AGENT
Jorge Soler2211.143$2.7M$2.7M$3.7MFREE AGENT
Ryan Sweeney296.028$1.5MFREE AGENT
Jose Veras336.128$1.0MFREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (15)

PlayerAgeSvc2014201520162017201820192020
Starlin Castro243.150$5.0MARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Nate Schierholtz305.078$4.1MFREE AGENT
Travis Wood273.004$3.9MARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeff Samardzija294.028$2.8MARB 3FREE AGENT
Justin Ruggiano323.019$2.0MARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Darwin Barney283.053$1.8MARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Luis Valbuena283.148$1.7MARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Emilio Bonifácio295.066$1.6MFREE AGENT
Wesley Wright294.105$1.4MARB 3FREE AGENT
James Russell284.000$1.2MARB 3FREE AGENT
John Baker334.141$875kARB 3FREE AGENT
Chris Coghlan293.171$651kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Neil Ramírez255.001$429kFREE AGENT
Matt Szczur244.064$117kARB 3FREE AGENT
Eli Whiteside345.012—FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (27)

PlayerAgeSvc2014201520162017201820192020
Kyuji Fujikawa331.000$4.5MPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Pedro Strop292.156$1.3MARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Anthony Rizzo241.168$1.2MPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ryan Kalish262.117$550kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Welington Castillo272.009$530kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Héctor Rondón261.000$514kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Justin Grimm250.170$505kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Chris Rusin270.115$503kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Junior Lake240.073$502kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Olt250.063$502kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jake Arrieta282.145$500kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Brian Schlitter282.029$440kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Zac Rosscup260.027$260kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Dan Straily251.031$252kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Arismendy Alcántara220.000$221kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Kyle Hendricks240.000$189kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Tsuyoshi Wada331.076$183kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Blake Parker291.089$150kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Javier Báez210.000$150kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Félix Doubront262.120$112kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Logan Watkins240.057$96kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jacob Turner231.033$81kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Eric Jokisch240.027$74kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Arodys Vizcaíno232.050$74kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Raffy Lopez260.034$74kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Dallas Beeler250.050$5kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Chris Valaika281.089—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Graphs

How each 2014 acquisition stacked onto Cubs's playoff-odds curve. The side table is ranked by PPA.

Rosternomics — front-office performance, roster value, and transaction history. Follow @rosternomics on X.
Decision-maker records extend to 1933; resource-controlled WAR and payroll metrics cover 1985–2026. Data sources include FanGraphs, Baseball-Reference, the Chadwick Bureau register, the Lahman Database, prospect rankings from Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and FanGraphs, and public payroll records. Transaction and trade data was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet. Executive birth/death data via Wikidata (CC0).
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