The 2013 Chicago Cubs season was the 142nd season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 138th in the National League and the 98th at Wrigley Field. The Cubs finished fifth and last in the National League Central with a record of 66–96. The Cubs began the season on April 1 at the Pittsburgh Pirates and finished the season on September 29 at the St. Louis Cardinals.
The season marked the second year of the Cubs rebuild under President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein and General Manager Jed Hoyer which would result in the Cubs breaking their 108-year World Series drought and lead the Cubs to the 2016 World Series championship.
The season was the last season with the Cubs for manager Dale Sveum as he was fired following the season. The season was also the last season with the Cubs for slugger Alfonso Soriano who would be traded at the trade deadline.
During the season, the Cubs drafted future Rookie of the Year, MVP, and All Star Kris Bryant with the second overall pick of the 2013 Draft. The Cubs would also acquire other players that would play important roles during their 2016 World Series season: Héctor Rondón was selected from the 2012 rule 5 draft from the Cleveland Indians on December 6, 2011, Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop were acquired via trade with the Baltimore Orioles on July 2, and Carl Edwards Jr. and Justin Grimm were acquired via trade with the Texas Rangers on July 22.
Offseason transactions
November 2012
November 2, selected Zach Putnam off waivers from the Colorado Rockies. November 3, Jim Adduci, Justin Berg, Adrian Cardenas, Brian Esposito, Jeff Frazier, Diory Hernandez, Rodrigo Lopez, Seth McClung, Blake Parker, Horacio Ramirez, Ryan Rowland-Smith, Miguel Socolovich, Matt Tolbert, and Jairo Asencio granted free agency. November 7, signed Blake Parker as a free agent. November 13, signed Scott Baker and Alberto Gonzalez as free agents. November 14, signed Brian Bogusevic and J.C. Boscan as free agents. November 16, signed Dioner Navarro as a free agent. November 19, signed Shawn Camp as a free agent. November 20, traded Jake Brigham to the Texas Rangers. Received Barret Loux (minors). November 21, released Bryan LaHair. November 27, signed Scott Feldman as a free agent. November 30, Jaye Chapman, Zach Putnam, and Ian Stewart granted free agency.
December
December 6, drafted Hector Rondon from the Cleveland Indians in the 2012 rule 5 draft. December 7, signed Jensen Lewis and Kyuji Fujikawa as a free agent. December 12, signed Ian Stewart as a free agent. Selected Sandy Rosario off waivers from the Boston Red Sox. December 13, signed Cory Wade as a free agent. December 15, signed Chang-Yong Lim as a free agent. December 17, signed Drew Carpenter as a free agent. December 21, signed Brad Nelson and Nate Schierholtz as a free agent. Jeff Beliveau selected by the Texas Rangers off waivers. Sandy Rosario selected by the San Francisco Giants off waivers. December 25, signed Jaye Chapman and Zach Putnam as a free agent. December 27, signed Hisanori Takahashi as a free agent. December 31, signed Dayan Diaz as a free agent.
January 2013
January 2, signed Edwin Jackson as a free agent. January 3, signed Dontrelle Willis as a free agent. January 10, signed Brent Lillibridge and Darnell McDonald as a free agent. January 26, signed Carlos Villanueva as a free agent.
February
February 10, signed Scott Hairston as a free agent. February 18, traded Tony Campana to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Received Jesus Castillo (minors) and Erick Leal (minors).
March
March 22, released Jason Berken. March 27, selected Guillermo Moscoso off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays. March 30, released Dontrelle Willis. Source
Regular season transactions
April
April 2, signed Ryan Sweeney as a free agent. April 3, signed Donnie Murphy as a free agent. April 4, released Jay Jackson. April 14, signed Kevin Gregg as a free agent. Selected Kameron Loe off waivers from the Seattle Mariners. April 16, selected Cody Ransom off waivers from the San Diego Padres. April 19, released Jensen Lewis. Selected Julio Borbon off waivers from the Texas Rangers.
May
May 6, released Cory Wade. May 9, sold Alberto Gonzalez to the New York Yankees. May 10, sent Drew Carpenter to the Colorado Rockies as part of a conditional deal. Kameron Loe granted free agency. May 21, selected Eduardo Sanchez off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals. May 27, selected Alex Burnett off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles.