One of Epstein's biggest trades in Chicago came early in his tenure and involved familiar face Anthony Rizzo. The slugging first baseman was drafted in 2007 by Epstein and now-Cubs GM Jed Hoyer in Boston. He was subsequently acquired by San Diego, when Hoyer was GM there. Cashner was a hard-throwing, underperforming starting pitcher; Rizzo is now an MVP candidate and is probably at least the co-face of the franchise. Cashner has gone 29-47 with a 94 ERA+ since leaving Chicago. (The MLB average ERA+ in 2016 was 101.)

The Cubs landed mild-mannered ace Hendricks at the 2012 deadline in exchange for stalwart starter Dempster. The deal was an early illustration of Epstein's uncanny ability to part with a solid contributor who still held trade value but nevertheless was on the cusp of a major drop-off. Dempster put up an 89 ERA+ for Texas and Boston before retiring. He returned to Chicago and drops by Wrigley Field from time to time to do his famed Harry Caray impression. Hendricks, meanwhile, was the only qualified MLB starter with a sub-2.20 ERA and a hard-hit rate below 10 percent this season.

STARTING PITCHERS' HARD-HIT RATE/ERA

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The Cubs' 101-loss season came with a benefit: the No. 2 pick of what will forever be known as the Kris Bryant draft. You can't really fault the Astros for taking Mark Appel at No. 1. ESPN's Keith Law had Appel atop his board as well and called him "clearly the top talent in this year's class." The draft is an inexact science, and that uncertainty helped make the Cubs' franchise. Bryant hit 43 homers in his first full minor-league season, was named rookie of the year in his first big-league season and may win the NL MVP award in 2016.

Wow. The Cubs signed Feldman in a low-key free agent deal, watched him put up a solid 112 ERA+ (15 points better than his career average) for half a season, then flipped him to the Orioles in a stunningly lopsided pre-deadline deal during the 2013 season. Arrieta had underachieved with Baltimore for years, but in Chicago he turned into a combination of Bob Gibson and Walter Johnson on his way to winning the 2015 Cy Young Award. Oh yeah: Strop has become one of baseball's better setup men.

The WAR totals don't reflect just how important this trade was for the Cubs. The big thing is that in Russell, they landed the guy who might be the NL's best shortstop for the next decade (especially if Corey Seager eventually moves to third base). Meanwhile, Hammel put up a zero WAR season for Oakland, then re-signed with the Cubs as a free agent and had a solid 2016. McKinney was part of the Chapman deal, and Straily was a key piece in acquiring Dexter Fowler. According to the Defensive Runs Saved grading system, Russell (19 DRS) is the team's only Gold Glove-caliber fielder at a single position (for all players with 100 innings at a position):

CUBS BY DEFENSIVE RUNS SAVED CATEGORIES

The Cubs didn't know Arrieta was going to explode when they signed Lester to be their ace. Though there is a long history of big free agent deals to pitchers that went south, Lester has been everything the Cubs hoped for, and if Hendricks doesn't win the 2016 NL Cy Young Award, Lester just might. When Lester signed in Chicago, it signified that the Cubs were ready to win.

Realizing they were just one or two pieces from getting over the top, the Cubs spent freely during the 2015 offseason. The results have been mostly positive despite Heyward's season-long slump at the plate. Zobrist and Heyward have provided a tone of defensive value, both for their actual performance and their versatility. When looked at in tandem, even the huge dollar amounts in play look like fair value -- at least for this season.

The Cubs took a PR hit when they acquired the fireballing but controversial Chapman. On the field, he turned the back of the bullpen into one of the best in baseball, (provided he, Strop and Rondon are healthy for the postseason). Chapman will be a free agent after the season, and if he leaves and Torres becomes a star, the net WAR of this deal could be ugly. But if the Cubs win the World Series, no one will care.