This year’s Chicago Cubs team is as bad or worse than the 2012 squad

It is unfortunate that we have come to a point this season where we are legitimately wondering if this Chicago Cubs season is rivaling one of (if not the) worst in recent history. The 2012 Cubs were the first team to lose 100+ games in a season since 1966 and had the fourth-lowest winning percentage (.377) of any team in franchise history. While it felt like it would not get that bad again anytime soon, here we are.

Jed Hoyer tearing down the core and starting a new era of Cubs baseball was never going to be pretty. Even if it was the right thing to do, everyone knew that the rest of 2021 would be rough. However, I don’t know anyone who thought we’d be giving 2012-level bad a run for its money. At this point, fans just want this whole thing to be over and be able to see more of the light at the end of the tunnel next season.

How exactly does the 2021 team stack up against the 2012 team? Here is a deeper look.

Chicago Cubs: Notable differences exist in the respective rebuilds and teams

2012 was year one of the Theo Epstein rebuild, and everyone knew it would be a losing season. The year began with a few notable veterans from the previous core still remaining, including Alfonso Soriano, Ryan Dempster, Geovany Soto, Marlon Byrd, Matt Garza and Carlos Marmol.

They had acquired Anthony Rizzo in the offseason (who came up mid-season) and were trying to build around him, Starlin Castro and Jeff Samardzija. By post-deadline, few veterans remained and young players got their shot. Sound familiar?

This year was a bit different from how it started. I obviously don’t need to recap everything that’s gone down this year, but there is no question the 2021 Opening Day roster was much stronger than the roster was at any point in 2012. A core of Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Willson Contreras is better than any team deep in a rebuild on paper. The 2021 team was at one point well above .500 and in first place in late June, while the 2012 team never spent a day .500 or better. There was a possibility the 2021 team could at least be competitive, while that was never going to happen in 2012.

Now that the deadline is past and the core is gone, catching the 2012 record does not seem impossible. Going into Tuesday, the Cubs had 52 wins. If they win only nine more the rest of the way they can match the 2012 total.

Chicago Cubs: Tremendous roster turnover both in 2012 and 2021

Many will look at the current Cubs roster and wonder, “Who are these guys?” Only nine guys on the current roster were also on the Opening Day roster. Willson Contreras (who is now hurt) is the main remaining position player piece, with Kyle Hendricks being the main remaining pitcher. Ian Happ, Jason Heyward, Matt Duffy and David Bote are the only other remaining position players from Opening Day.

More from Cubbies Crib

• Cubs should keep close eye on non-tender candidate Cody Bellinger
• Cubs starting pitching has been thriving on the North Side
• Make no mistake: the Cubs are very much about power hitters
• Cubs are giving pitcher Javier Assad a deserved shot
• Cubs: It’s time to start thinking about potential September call-ups

Looking at a sample lineup from 2012 at this time it is actually interesting to see what it was like. On August 15, 2012 against the Astros, the Cubs sent Justin Germano to pitch with a lineup of David DeJesus, Josh Vitters, Anthony Rizzo, Alfonso Soriano, Starlin Castro, Luis Valbuena, Brett Jackson and Steve Clevenger behind him.  Certainly not a contending lineup, but at least somewhat recognizable with a mix of building-block players, veterans and former top prospects.

The 2012 rotation post-deadline following the trades of Garza, Dempster and Paul Maholm was quite the mix aside from Samardzija and Travis Wood, including guys like Germano, Jason Berken, Chris Volstad, Brooks Raley, just to name a few. 2021 still has Hendricks, Adbert Alzolay (now injured), Alec Mills, Zach Davies and prospect Justin Steele. Again, not good overall but we know who they are.

Each team has their “fun” players though. Patrick Wisdom, who leads NL rookies in home runs, is like Bryan LaHair was in 2012. Both older rookies that put up big hot stretches and overall solid numbers…while having noticeable flaws in their swings. Frank Schwindel and Rafael Ortega have become somewhat fun “legends” themselves lately. While not an offensive threat, Darwin Barney was able to cement himself in Cubs history winning the Gold Glove at second in 2012.