Tag / Core Four

by admin

End Of An Era

When Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer took over baseball operations for the Cubs following the 2011 season, they started a rebuild effort that combined high draft picks with savvy trades in an effort to end the longest title drought in US professional sports.  They key to that rebuild, four prospects ranked in the Top 50 by nearly every publication prior to the 2014 season, became known as the Core Four.  Javier Baez, the 9th overall pick in the 2011 draft, Albert Almora, the 6th selection in 2012, Jorge Soler, a Cuban defector who signed a 9 year, $30 million contract in June of 2012, and Kris Bryant, the second overall pick in the 2013 draft were expected to lead the Cubs to the promised land and, in 2016, they did, each contributing to the team’s first World Series title in 108 years.

Bryant and Baez were the only two left heading into the 2021 season.  Both were traded today.

Kris Bryant is heading to the Giants, with OF Alexander Canario and RHP Caleb Killian coming back to the Cubs.  Bryant, the 2015 NL Rookie of the Year and the 2016 NL MVP, has seemingly been on the trading block for years now, ever since the Cubs won his service time grievance.  Ironically, he was the last one out the door, following yesterday’s trade of Anthony Rizzo and this afternoon’s moves with Craig Kimbrel and Javier Baez.

Canario, a top 15 prospect in the Giants’ system, showed flashes as a teenager prior to the pandemic, but has seen his strikeout rate increase as he’s gone up to higher levels of competition.  Killian, likely rated in the top 40 of the Giants system, was an 8th round pick in 2019 and has seem some success this year coming back from the pandemic.

After winning the World Series in 2016, the Cubs, with their young talent, looked to be on the verge of a dynasty.  5 years later, that dynasty is over without ever really starting, having dropped their last 4 consecutive post-season games dating back to the 2017 NLCS.  Now, 10 years after the start of the last rebuild, Jed Hoyer has to start again.

Bryant’s and Baez’s numbers in a Cubs uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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by admin

By The Numbers – 68

In 1929, uniform numbers appeared on the back of baseball jerseys for the first time, thanks to the Indians and the Yankees.  By 1937, numbers finally appeared across all uniforms, both home and away, across both major leagues.  Since that time, 81 distinct numbers have been worn by members of the White Sox, while the Cubs boast 76.

Today, we continue our look at those players, picking our favorite, if not the best, player to wear each uniform number for both Chicago teams with #68.  5 players have donned #71 while playing in Chicago, 6 for the White Sox and 1 for the Cubs.

Jorge Soler was originally signed by the Cubs as an amateur free agent in 2012.  Part of the so-called Core Four, the prospects meant to finally lead the Cubs to post-season glory, Soler made his major league debut on August 27, 2014, going 2 for 4 with a home run and 2 RBIs against the Reds.  He became the primary right fielder in 2015, starting 95 games and putting up a .723 OPS as the Cubs made a surprising run to the NLCS before falling to the Mets.  With Jason Heyward on board in 2016, Soler saw most of his playing time in left field, filling in for the injured Kyle Schwarber.  While he struggled during the regular season, he made the most of his World Series opportunity, hitting .400 against the Indians in his 2 appearances.  After achieving that initial goal of a World Series title, Soler was sent to the Royals for closer Wade Davis.

The pickings are slim on the south side of town for players wearing #68.  Dylan Covey wore it the most, going 6-29 over his 3 seasons with the White Sox after being acquired as a Rule 5 draft choice out of the A’s organization.  He was thankfully let go following the 2019 season.

by jim

A Cautionary Tale

brett-jackson-dejesusAs the Cub faithful await the arrival of Kris Bryant, Jorge Soler, and Albert Almora to join Javy Baez in leading the team to multiple World Series titles, they would be wise to think back all the way to Thursday night, when the previous centerpiece of a successful Cub future was traded to the Diamondbacks in the middle of the night with little to no fanfare.

Brett Jackson, the Cubs first round draft pick in 2009, combined speed and power and quickly became the highest rated prospect in the Cubs system.  He, along with 2007 first round pick Josh Vitters, were the latest in a long line of prospects that were expected to finally lead the Cubs to the promised land.  There was just one problem: Jackson’s bat had trouble finding the baseball when he swung at it.

His strikeout rate rose at each level of the minor league system, but the Cubs still decided to promote him to the big leagues in 2012.  He appeared in 44 games, had 120 at bats, and struck out 59 times while putting up a .175 average.  After that, things fell apart for Jackson, as he started to struggle at Triple A, striking out at an even higher rate, and he never came close to returning to the big leagues.

As the Cubs put together their so-called “Core Four”, Jackson found himself outside the plans for the Cubs future.  Wednesday night, he was traded to the Diamondbacks in exchange for a 26-year old pitcher who just made it to Triple A for the first time.

With Javy Baez already up in the major leagues and Bryant and Soler not far behind, many Cub fans are already looking forward to a successful future.  But, as Brett Jackson found out, the future is a nebulous place where nothing is certain.

by jim

Bring Back The Cub

Buh0Q-NCEAAyH2xThe Cubs returned home with rookie sensation Javy Baez today, and to mark the occasion, the grounds crew put a new design in center field for his Wrigley Field debut.  The cub head that was part of the Cubs jersey from 1979-1993 had reappeared, cut in to the grass in the outfield.  Which begs the question, why isn’t it still on the jersey?  It was replaced in 1994 by an angrier version for 3 years, and then the walking bear logo that the team uses today.  I think it would be a huge upgrade to switch back.

Speaking of Javy Baez, its good to see Cub fans have not overreacted to the arrival of the first of the so-called “Core Four”.  By which, I mean, of course they have.  I don’t think the Catholic church would react this strongly to the return of Jesus Christ.  Throughout his minor league career, Baez has struggled when he was first called up to a new level.  There will be a little more pressure on him now that he is expected to be the savior, at least until the next rookie is called up.

by admin

The Future Is Now?

darwin-barneyThe Cubs finally reached down to their highly-touted farm system back on July 9th when they called up Arismendy Alcantara, a 22 year old who had signed with the Cubs following the 2008 season, to take Darwin Barney’s spot on the roster while he went off to have a baby.  Thanks to the subsequent trade with Oakland and the All-Star break, the Cubs managed to keep Alcantara with the big league club.  Today, with Emilio Bonifacio due to be activated off the disabled list, they could have sent him back down and continued to work towards possibly contending at some point down the line.  Instead, the Cubs decided to stick with Alcantara, for the time being at least, and designated new papa Darwin Barney for assignment.  For the first time in the Theo Epstein/Jed Hoyer era, the Cubs went with a legitimate prospect at the big league level over the established, if less talented, veteran.

What does this mean for Barney?  Well, the Cubs have 10 days to either trade him, release him, or convince him to accept a minor league assignment.  Since he became a regular in 2011, Barney has steadied the right side of the Cubs infield, even winning the Gold Glove in 2012.  Each year, though, his offense has declined, to the point where he was not going to get regular playing time even if he stuck with the Cubs.  There are contenders out there, namely the Blue Jays or the Giants, who are looking for help at second base, but might need more offense than Barney can provide.  Chances are he will end up being released, free to sign a minor league deal with the team of his choosing.

Barney’s time with the Cubs coincided with my not going to very many Cub games, so I’ve only seen him play in person 4 times in his 5 seasons with the club.  Ironically, he did hit in those games, going 5 for 15.  His time with the Cubs was numbered, as eventually the “Core Four” and other prospects, like Alcantara, will be given the chance to take over.  Unfortunately for him, the Cubs decided that, at least for Alcantara, the future would start now.