Former world champion Cubs' core falling flat with new teams after 2021 departures

Kris Bryant made his emotional return to the Friendly Confines as a member of the San Francisco Giants just months after being traded at the 2021 trade deadline. This week, Javier Baez set foot in Wrigley Field for the first time in more than three years, and in a couple of weeks, the longtime face of the Chicago Cubs franchise, Anthony Rizzo, comes to town with the New York Yankees.

It feels like forever ago that confetti rained down on the six million-plus fans lining the streets of Chicago on a picture-perfect fall day to celebrate the World Series champion Cubs. Even that fateful 2021 deadline feels like a different lifetime, and things have changed a great deal since then.

Theo Epstein's longtime right-hand man, Jed Hoyer, continues to work through a rebuild and the Cubs remain light years away from winning their first postseason game since 2018, nearly three years before Bryant, Rizzo and Baez were traded. Meanwhile, those three have fallen on hard times in their respective careers, some more so than others. Let's check in on the 'Big 3' and see how things have gone.

Anthony Rizzo has found the most success since leaving Chicago

Rizzo was the closest thing to Mr. Cub we've seen since Ernie Banks himself. But that didn't stop Hoyer from showing him the door, trading him to the New York Yankees in exchange for prospects Kevin Alcántara and Alexander Vizcaíno. The former has established himself as one of the organization's top prospects and could factor into the outfield picture in the next year or two.

Seeing Rizzo take photos with his family against the Wrigley ivy was heartbreaking - but seeing him enjoy his new home in the Bronx softened the blow a bit. He picked up right where he left off down the stretch in 2021 and wound up re-signing with the Yankees that winter. The 2022 season was a strong showing for him, finishing with a 130 OPS+ in 130 games.

Since then, he's tailed off. For reasons unknown, it took the Yankees weeks to diagnose a season-ending concussion in 2023, and, prior to being shut down, it was clear he wasn't right. This year, a broken arm has shelved Rizzo since mid-June, not exactly putting him in a strong position to make another foray into free agency this winter.

His best days are behind him - and it's hard to envision him seeing any long-term offers this winter. First and foremost, he needs to finish healing and show he's at 100 percent to close out the season and, hopefully, make some noise this October in New York.

Javier Baez's time in Detroit has been an unmitigated disaster

If you're looking for someone to challenge Bryant as one of the worst free agent signings in recent memory, look no further than his former teammate, Javier Baez.

Baez, who, at his peak, was one of the most electric players in the league, made his return to Wrigley this week, getting an emotional welcome from the fans before going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts in the series opener. That pretty much encapsulates his entire Tigers career, which really couldn't have gone worse than it has to this point.

Still just 31, the former Gold Glover not only has regressed at the plate, but even his defense has shown a remarkable inconsistency with his glove, as well. His swing-and-miss is worse than ever, evidenced by a chase rate that has ranked in the bottom 1 percent of all qualified hitters for four years running.

He's got all the makings of a DFA candidate. Frankly, he's dead money already and slotting someone else into the lineup wouldn't net out any worse production. We're talking about a guy making $25 million a year relegated to the nine-hole in the batting order. Again, it's hard to watch a guy who meant so much to the Cubs struggle so mightily - but, man, Jed Hoyer looks like a genius for not going long-term on the former MVP runner-up.