Cubs News: A look back at five of Theo Epstein’s worst moves

He did a lot of good. But here are Theo Epstein’s five-worst moves with the Cubs.

The Chicago Cubs have a new President of Baseball Operations in Jed Hoyer, as Theo Epstein has departed. Epstein brought a championship to Chicago in 2016, and for that, we will always be grateful. We previously looked back at his best moves with the team.

However, Epstein made his share of mistakes with the club. Here we look at five of his worst moves during his time with the club from 2011 to 2020.

Chicago Cubs: Drafting Brendon Little right before Nate Pearson in 2017

The Cubs had a lot of success with first round picks under Epstein. Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, and Ian Happ are among those that have worked out decently to this point. However, there are a few first round picks that Epstein has missed on.

One move that might get some scrutiny is drafting Albert Almora Jr. sixth overall in 2012, right before the San Diego Padres took Max Fried seventh. However, Almora hasn’t been a complete bust, as he was part of the 2016 championship team and had a couple of decent seasons, despite the fact that he has gone downhill the last couple of years and may even be non-tendered this offseason.

It’s tough to criticize draft picks, as even the best miss on some. Yet one that looks especially bad right now is Epstein’s 2017 first-round pick, when he chose Brendon Little 27th overall right before the Blue Jays took Nate Pearson 28th. While Little is barely on the Cubs’ radar right now, Pearson is one of the game’s top prospects and made his major league debut in 2020.