3 decisions that may haunt the Cubs for years to come

Cubs: 3 haunting decisions – #1: Non-tendering Kyle Schwarber

As if it were any real surprise that Kyle Schwarber landed at number one on this list, the evidence is piling up that the Cubs front office made a huge mistake non-tendering the slugging outfielder.

Schwarber has hit some absolute missiles in Wrigley Field over the years. From a moonshot in the NLDS that landed on top of the right field scoreboard, or a return from an ACL tear that had Cleveland pitchers spooked in the 2016 World Series, he left an indelible mark in Cubs lore.

Since leaving the North Side, he’s launched 78 regular season home runs. Considering he spent five weeks on the IL for a hamstring injury during a time that he was on a historic tear at the plate last summer, that number of total home runs the last two seasons could have been even higher. It just goes to show how locked in he has been from a power perspective.

In 2021, split between Washington and Boston, he recorded a .266 average, up from the .230 mark he had with the Cubs a year before. He dropped down to .218 here in 2022, but I’m going out on a limb here and guessing that contributing nearly 50 bombs and 100 RBI sort of takes away how much you really care about that.

Looking at this season, Schwarber hit a career-high and National League-leading 46 homers to go along with career-high 94 RBI during his first year with the Philadelphia Phillies. His production is a big part of the reason why the Fightin’ Phils find themselves in the World Series for the first time in more than a decade. The part that hurts the Cubs the most is that Schwarber was a free agent this past winter after already having a career year in 2021.

Not even trading him, but just non-tendering him in a blatant cost-cutting measure is one of the most painful moves we can look back on as Cubs fans – and it could haunt the team for years to come.