The 2017 Chicago Cubs season was the 146th season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 142nd in the National League and the Cubs' 102nd season at Wrigley Field. The Cubs were managed by Joe Maddon, in his third year as Cubs manager, and played their home games at Wrigley Field as members of the National League Central.
The Cubs were the defending World Series champions, having defeated the Cleveland Indians in the 2016 World Series.
The Cubs began the season on April 2, 2017, at the St. Louis Cardinals and finished the regular season October 1 at home against the Cincinnati Reds. The Cubs finished the season 92–70 in first place in the Central Division. With a win over the Cardinals on September 27, the Cubs won the division title for the second consecutive year.
The Cubs defeated the Washington Nationals in the NLDS three games to two to advance to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS in a rematch of the previous year's series. In the best of seven NLCS, the Cubs lost to the Dodgers four games to one.
Previous season The Cubs finished the 2016 season 103–58 in first place in the Central Division, reaching the playoffs for the second consecutive season. The Cubs defeated the San Francisco Giants three games to one in the National League Division Series. In the National League Championship Series, the Cubs defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers four games to two to advance the franchise's first World Series since 1945. In the World Series, the Cubs rallied from a three games to one deficit to defeat the Cleveland Indians to win the World Series for the first time since 1908.
Offseason
Wrigley Field renovations The Cubs continued their $500 million, multiyear renovation project at Wrigley Field. Changes to the stadium for the 2017 season included: Relocated bullpens – Both bullpens, previously located down the first and third base lines, have been moved to their new locations under the bleachers in left (home bullpen) and right (visitor bullpen). The bullpens have windows that allow fans in the bleachers to look into each bullpen. Green-tinted transparent doors lead on to the field which allow the players see the game action, but cannot be seen through from the field. New rows of seats – Where the bullpens were located, down each line, four rows of seats were added. Seats behind home plate replaced – All seating in the lower bull behind home plate were replaced. An area underneath the seats will eventually become the American Airlines 1914 Club. Of the new seats, 700 were padded will be part of the Club in 2018. Partial facade restoration – The facade facing Addison Street was restored to match earlier changes to the west facade. Concourse replaced – The right field concourse was replaced with new bathrooms and additional concession stands. Office building and The Park at Wrigley – To the west of Wrigley Field, the Cubs built a new office building for organization offices. A plaza named The Park at Wrigley with stores and video monitors was added and can be used by the neighborhood when the Cubs are not playing at home.
Transactions
November 2016 Source November 6Declined to exercise option on RHP Jason Hammel.November 6OF Dexter Fowler declined his mutual option with the club.November 7RHP Jose Rosario was added to the 40-man roster from AAA Iowa.November 7RHP Conor Mullee was claimed off waiver from the New York Yankees. On the same day, RHP Aaron Brooks and IF Christian Villaneuva were activated from the 60-day DL. Also on November 7, the Cubs activated RHP Dallas Beeler from the 60-day DL and outrighted him to AAA Iowa. RHP Andury Acevedo and C Tim Federowicz were also sent outright to AAA Iowa the same day.November 19Claimed LHP David Rollins off waivers from the Seattle Mariners. The contracts of LHP Jack Leathersich, OF Jacob Hannemann, C Victor Caratini, and RHP Duane Underwood Jr. were selected.November 20Signed OF Jon Jay to a one-year contract.
December 2016 Source December 2Declined to tender a 2017 contract to LHP Gerardo Concepcion, LHP Zac Rosscup, RHP Conor Mullee, and INF Christian Villanueva. Agreed to terms with LHP Brian Duensing on a one-year contract.December 7Traded OF Jorge Soler to the Kansas City Royals for RHP Wade Davis.December 8Acquired LHP Caleb Smith from the Milwaukee Brewers for cash.December 14RHP Koji Uehara agreed to terms on a one-year contract.December 16Named Desi Wilson and Mariano Duncan hitting coaches for AAA Iowa; Jacob Cruz hitting coach, Ricardo Medina assistant coach, and Mike McNulty athletic trainer for AA Tennessee; Guillermo Martinez hitting coach and Ty Wright assistant coach for A Myrtle Beach; Brian Lawrence pitching coach, Jeremy Farrell hitting coach, Jonathan Mota assistant coach, Logan Severson athletic trainer, and Ryan Nordtvedt strength coach for A South Bend; David Rosario pitching coach, Juan Cabreja hitting coach, and James Edwards athletic trainer for A Eugene; Armando Gabino pitching coach, Osmin Melendez hitting coach, Leo Perez assistant coach, Ben Carhart rehab coach and Sean Folan athletic trainer for Mesa.
January 2017 Source January 14Named former C David Ross as a special assistant to baseball operations. Agreed to terms on one-year contracts with RHP Héctor Rondón and RHP Justin Grimm.January 17RHP Dylan Floro was claimed off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays.
February 2017 Source February 1Traded RHP James Farris and international bonus money slot number 28 to the Colorado Rockies for RHP Eddie Butler and international bonus money slot number 74. Designated RHP Dylan Floro for assignment.February 3Assigned RHP Dylan Floro to Iowa.February 8Designated LHP David Rollins for assignment.February 10Promoted Kyle Evans to director of pro scouting/special assistant to the president and general manager; Alex Suarez to director of international pro scouting, assistant director of player development and international amateur scouting; Jason Parks to special assistant to the president and general manager; Greg Davey, promoted to coordinator, baseball operations; Albert Lyu to developer, research and development; Andrew Bassett to assistant director, pro scouting; Min Sung to supervisor, Pacific Rim scouting/special assignment professional scout; John Baker to coordinator, mental skills; Jason Cooper to special assignment scout; Jake Ciarrachi to MLB scout; Shane Farrell to Upper Midwest area.February 14Assigned LHP David Rollins outright to Iowa.February 24Agreed to terms with RHP Pedro Strop on a one-year contract for 2018 to avoid arbitration.
March 2017 Source March 7Assigned RHPs Andury Acevedo, Daniel Corcino, Fernando Rodriguez and Ryan Williams; and LHPs Gerardo Concepcion and Manny Parra to their minor league camp.March 10Agreed to terms with RHPs Aaron Brooks, Jake Buchanan, Eddie Butler, Carl Edwards Jr., Kyle Hendricks, Pierce Johnson, Alec Mills, Felix Pena, Jose Rosario, and Duane Underwood Jr.; LHPs Jack Leathersich, Mike Montgomery, Caleb Smith, and Rob Zastryzny; Cs Victor Caratini, Willson Contreras and Kyle Schwarber; INFs Javier Báez, Kris Bryant, Jeimer Candelario, Tommy La Stella, and Addison Russell; and OFs Albert Almora Jr., Jacob Hannemann, and Matt Szczur on one-year contracts.March 14Released RHP Maikel Cleto. Also optioned RHPs Aaron Brooks and Jose Rosario and LHP Jack Leathersich to Iowa (PCL) and RHP Duane Underwood Jr. to Tennessee. Assigned RHPs Seth Frankoff, Casey Kelly, Jhondaniel Medina and Conor Mullee, and LHP Rosscup to their minor league camp.March 17Optioned RHPs Pierce Johnson and Felix Pena, C Victor Caratini and OF Jacob Hannemann to Iowa. Assigned INF Chesny Young and OFs Eloy Jimenez and Mark Zagunis to their minor league camp.March 23Released RHP Jim Henderson. Optioned RHPs Jake Buchanan and Alec Mills, and INF Jeimer Candelario to Iowa. Assigned RHPs Williams Perez and Dylan Floro and LHP David Rollins to minor league camp.March 28Optioned RHP Eddie Butler and LHP Rob Zastryzny to Iowa. Assigned INF Ian Happ, OF John Andreoli and C Taylor Davis to their minor league camp.March 29Released INF Munenori Kawasaki.March 29Placed LHP Brian Duensing on the 10-day disabled list to start the season.
Regular season
Game log
|-style="background:#fbb" | 1 || April 2 || @ Cardinals|| 3–4 || Oh (1–0) || Montgomery (0–1) || — || 47,566 || 0–1 || L1 |-style="background:#cfc" | 2 || April 4 || @ Cardinals|| 2–1 || Arrieta (1–0) || Wainwright (0–1) || Davis (1) || 46,760 || 1–1 ||W1 |-style="background:#bbb" |—||April 5||@ Cardinals |colspan="7"|Postponed (rain) (Makeup date: April 6) |-style="background:#cfc" |3||April 6||@ Cardinals|| 6–4 || Lackey (1–0) || Cecil (0–1) || Davis (2) || 44,039 || 2–1 || W2 |-style="background:#fbb" |4||April 7||@ Brewers|| 1–2 (11) || Hughes (1–0) || Montgomery (0–2) ||—|| 28,728 || 2–2 || L1 |-style="background:#cfc" |5||April 8||@ Brewers|| 11–6 ||Hendricks (1–0) || Mariñez (0–2) ||—|| 43,080 || 3–2 || W1 |-style="background:#cfc" |6||April 9||@ Brewers|| 7–4 || Arrieta (2–0) || Davies (0–2) ||—|| 38,483 || 4–2 || W2 |-style="background:#cfc" |7||April 10||Dodgers|| 3–2 || Davis (1–0) || Romo (0–1) ||—|| 41,166 || 5–2 || W3 |-style="background:#fbb" |8||April 12||Dodgers|| 0–2 || McCarthy (2–0) || Lackey (1–1) || Jansen (2)|| 40,844 || 5–3 || L1 |-style="background:#cfc" |9||April 13||Dodgers|| 4–0 || Anderson (1–0) || Ryu (0–2) ||—|| 38,379 || 6–3 || W1 |-style="background:#fbb" |10||April 14||Pirates|| 2–4 || Cole (1–1) || Hendricks (1–1) ||Watson (3) || 40,430 || 6–4 || L1 |-style="background:#fbb" |11||April 15||Pirates|| 7–8 || Williams (1–0) || Strop (0–1) ||Watson (4)|| 41,814 || 6–5 || L2 |-style="background:#fbb" |12||April 16||Pirates|| 1–6 || Taillon (1–0) || Uehara (0–1) || — || 39,422 || 6–6 || L3 |-style="background:#fbb" |13||April 17||Brewers|| 3–6 || Anderson (2–0) || Lackey (1–2) || Feliz (5) || 38,636 || 6–7 || L4 |-style="background:#cfc" |14||April 18||Brewers|| 9–7 || Grimm (1–0) || Hughes (1–1) || Davis (3) || 39,026 || 7–7 || W1 |-style="background:#cfc" |15||April 19||Brewers|| 7–4 || Davis (2–0) || Feliz (0–2) ||—|| 34,864 || 8–7 || W2 |-style="background:#cfc" |16||April 21||@ Reds|| 6–5 (11) || Edwards Jr. (1–0) || Stephenson (0–1) || Davis (4) || 29,350 || 9–7 || W3 |-style="background:#cfc" |17||April 22||@ Reds|| 12–8 || Arrieta (3–0) || Reed (1–1) ||—|| 27,189 || 10–7 || W4 |-style="background:#fbb" |18||April 23||@ Reds|| 5–7|| Arroyo (2–2) || Lackey (1–3) ||—|| 32,670 || 10–8 || L1 |-style="background:#cfc" |19||April 24||@ Pirates|| 14–3 || Anderson (2–0) || Kuhl (1–2) ||—|| 13,445 || 11–8 || W1 |-style="background:#cfc" |20||April 25||@ Pirates|| 1–0 || Hendricks (2–1) || Cole (1–3) || Davis (5) || 15,236 || 12–8 || W2 |-style="background:#fbb" |21||April 26||@ Pirates|| 5–6 || LeBlanc (1–0) || Lester (0–1) || Watson (7) || 16,904 || 12–9 || L1 |-style="background:#fbb" |22||April 28||@ Red Sox|| 4–5 ||Pomeranz (2–1)|| Arrieta (3–1) |Kimbrel (8)|| 37,054 | 12–10 || L2 |-style="background:#cfc" |23||April 29||@ Red Sox|| 7–4 || Lackey (2–3) | Wright (1–4) |Davis (6)||36,776|| 13–10 || W1 |-style="background:#fbb" |24||April 30||@ Red Sox|| 2–6 || Barnes (3–0) || Uehara (0–2) ||—|| 36,916 || 13–11 || L1
|-style="background:#fbb" |25||May 1||Phillies|| 2–10 || Velasquez (2–2) || Anderson (2–1) ||—|| 38,567 || 13–12 || L2 |-style="background:#cfc" |26||May 2||Phillies|| 8–3 || Lester (1–1) || Hellickson (4–1) ||—|| 38,660 || 14–12 || W1 |-style=background:#cfc |27||May 3||Phillies|| 5–4 || Arrieta (4–1) || Eickhoff (0–3) || Davis (7) || 39,335 || 15–12 || W2 |-style=background:#cfc |28||May 4||Phillies|| 5–4 (13) || Uehara (1–2) || Rodríguez (1–1) ||—|| 36,397 || 16–12 || W3 |-style=background:#fbb |29||May 5||Yankees|| 2–3 || Holder (1–0) || Rondón (0–1) || Chapman (7) || 40,395 || 16–13 || L1 |-style=background:#fbb |30||May 6||Yankees|| 6–11 || Montgomery (2–1) || Anderson (2–2) ||—|| 40,735 || 16–14 || L2 |-style=background:#fbb