No players remain on the Chicago Cubs’ active roster from the 2016 World Series-winning team. Starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks was the last to stick around, but he departed in free agency to the Los Angeles Angels this offseason on a one-year deal. The team’s core diminished one by one. In 2021, the Cubs dealt first baseman Anthony Rizzo to the New York Yankees and shortstop Javier Baez to the New York Mets. The organization took its rebuilding process further, trading third baseman Kris Bryant to the San Francisco Giants. The drastic change could not have been easy for the die-hard fans in Chicago.

The same could be said about former Cubs players who were part of that 2016 team, including Kyle Schwarber, who played six seasons with the Cubs from 2015 to 20. In a recent interview on Foul Territory, Schwarber expressed that maybe the organization let go of the core too soon. “You think that team is going to last forever.”

Kyle Schwarber says it was shocking to see the Cubs disassemble their core five years after winning the World Series. pic.twitter.com/a35WLJCa9C — Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) March 6, 2025 “You think that team’s gonna last forever,” Schwarber said on Foul Territory. “There’s a business side to baseball. I guess it was probably a bit more shocking going into ’21 when I was already gone. Everyone’s getting traded. You know, I think that was interesting. I felt like the nucleus was still kinda there. They still had a really good team. They still had a really good core of guys. I mean, they’re great people. You know, that’s the business side of the game.”

Schwarber left the Cubs in free agency in 2021, signing a one-year contract with the Washington Nationals. After playing the second half of the 2021 season with the Boston Red Sox, the lefty has become a vital member of the Philadelphia Phillies in the last three seasons. The Phillies seek their first World Series title since 2008.