If one looks how the Cubs 40 man roster was constructed, some would be surprised by the result. In the Epstein era, the emphasis has been on homegrown talent.
As it currently stands, the Cubs roster contains 15 homegrown players (Castillo, Cabrera, Samardzija, Parker, Castro, Lake, Vitters, Barney, Russell, Watkins, Alacantara, B. Jackson, Rusin, Szczur and Beeler). All those players were acquired prior to 2011. That is 37.5 percent of the Cubs current roster.
There are no homegrown talent drafted by Esptein currently on the 40 man roster.
The Cubs roster contains 12 players acquired by trade, all during the Esptein era (Rosscup, T. Wood, Rizzo, Vizcaino, C. Villaneuva, Arrieta, Strop, Grimm, Olt, Ramirez, Kottaras, and Ruggiano). That is 30 percent of the Cubs current roster.
There are no players acquired by trade on the roster prior to the Epstein era.
The Cubs roster contains 11 players acquired through free agency, all during the Epstein era (Soler, Fujikawa, Schierholtz, Villanueva, E. Jackson, Sweeney, Murphy, Veras, Wright, Hammel and McDonald). That is 27.5 percent of the Cubs current roster.
There are no Hendry FA acquisitions currently on the Cubs roster.
There is one Rule 5 player on the Cubs roster (Rondon), acquired during the Epstein era. He represents 2.5 percent of the Cubs current roster.
There is one player picked off waivers on the Cubs roster (Valbuena), acquired during the Epstein era. He represents 2.5 percent of the Cubs current roster.
So during the Epstein era, he has zero homegrown talent on his 40 man roster. He has acquired 62.5 percent of the current roster during his tenure.
Epstein's roster building so far has been:
48 percent via trades
44 percent via free agency
4 percent via Rule 5 draft
4 percent via waiver claims.
