The Cubs might have the best collection of talent we've seen in the National League in a long, long time -- maybe since the Doc Gooden and Darryl Strawberry Mets of the mid-1980s. They have a deep and diverse lineup with Kyle Schwarber, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo likely to hit 1-2-3 this season. They've got an excellent rotation, with Jon Lester et al., and they have Wade Davis to close for a really good bullpen.
But the spine of the team is the defense. There are no perfect metrics to measure this part of the game -- or any part, for that matter. But there are numbers that suggest the Cubs' glove work was historically great. Joe Maddon's team posted the highest number of defensive runs saved (107) since the stat was first traced in 2003, breaking the record of the 2005 Jimmy Rollins-Chase Utley Philadelphia Phillies.
Jason Heyward was fourth among all outfielders in DRS; Addison Russell was tied for the most among shortstops with the Giants' Brandon Crawford; Rizzo led all first basemen.
And Maddon deployed a special weapon in Javier Baez, placing him wherever the ball was most likely to be hit. With only 383 innings at second base -- fewer than 45 games -- he had more DRS (11) than all but two second basemen.
Batting average on balls in play is regarded as the pitchers' flip of a coin, in a sense. A ball is hit and it might fall into play. Or it might not. Some of that is based on the defense's ability to translate balls in play into outs. In 2012, the Angels had Mike Trout in center field, Torii Hunter in right, Vernon Wells in left, a younger Erick Aybar at shortstop and the No. 1 and No. 2 pitchers in BABIP, Jered Weaver and Ervin Santana, with no other starting pitchers in the Top 15.
The 2001 Mariners won 116 games and had an outfield that included Ichiro Suzuki and Mike Cameron, and Seattle had four pitchers among the Top 15 in BABIP.
Last season, 73 major-league pitchers threw enough pitches to qualify for the ERA title, and among those, five of the top 13 pitchers with the lowest BABIP pitched for the Cubs. All five were starting pitchers.
Plays were made; rallies were stunted or ended. Runs were kept off the board.
With that in mind, here's the next chapter in our ongoing Top 10 series: the Top 10 defensive teams based on input from industry evaluators.
1. Chicago Cubs
One of the more interesting questions moving ahead for the Cubs is how Bryant's role on defense will evolve. In his first two years in the big leagues, he has moved from position to position. He's mostly played third base, of course, but he's also had 58 starts in the outfield, another at first base, and even an inning at shortstop.
This is uncommon. Most veteran players -- especially superstar-level players -- would probably prefer to remain in one spot. Scouts regard Bryant as a solid, unspectacular third baseman so far in his career, and when Maddon moves him to another spot, it's sometimes been to position Baez, a better defender, at third.
Maddon did not do this in the postseason last year. He kept Bryant at third, Baez at second and Ben Zobrist in the outfield.
So will Bryant continue to move around position to position, as Zobrist has done during his career? Or will Bryant become entrenched at third base?
A note from ESPN Stats & Information's Mark Simon about the Cubs' 2016 defense: They were the only team to finish with a positive defensive runs saved total at every position last season.
2. manager Bruce Bochy has elite-level defenders in catcher Buster Posey, first baseman Brandon Belt, second baseman Joe Panik and shortstop Crawford. The Giants ranked third to the Cubs and Astros in defensive runs saved last season. And the Giants allowed only 38 unearned runs in 2016.
3. They were really good last year in the field and could continue to improve, as Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman gain more experience on the left side of the infield. New catcher Brian McCann is regarded as a good defender. And manager A.J. Hinch will have some interesting choices with his outfield alignment in deciding where to place George Springer and Josh Reddick, and whether to deploy another good glove man in the third spot.
4. Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. are high-impact defenders while playing their home games in one of the toughest and most quirky outfields in the majors in Fenway Park. And Andrew Benintendi has the tools to be an elite-level outfielder -- although the speed of left fielders is always mitigated in Boston. Dustin Pedroia and Xander Bogaerts are solid through the middle, and newly signed Mitch Moreland (who figures to get most of the starts at first base) won a Gold Glove last year.
From ESPN Stats & Information: Pedroia had a bounce-back year in 2016, and had 12 runs saved after having minus-3 the season before. He's finished first or second in runs saved among second baseman in four of the past six seasons.
5. General manager Billy Eppler has made defense a high priority time and time again since taking over the Angels. He traded for shortstop Andrelton Simmons last winter, and this winter he added Danny Espinosa to play second, as well as Cameron Maybin, who will shift from center field to left. The Angels also swapped for catcher Martin Maldonado and now have two catchers who ranked among the best 11 in the league in defensive runs saved in 2016.
The Angels' pitchers need help, and they should get a lot of it in the upcoming season.
6. Manager John Gibbons will field excellent defenders in third baseman Josh Donaldson, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, center fielder Kevin Pillar and catcher Russell Martin. And if Jose Bautista does not work out a new deal with Toronto, the Jays should have significant defensive improvement in right field.
7. The Royals were the only team to get at least 10 defensive runs saved from every outfield spot last season. But of course they lost Jarrod Dyson, whose 19 were the most on the team last season; he was traded to the Mariners last week. They have a lot of hardware: Catcher Salvador Perez has won four Gold Gloves, Eric Hosmer three, Alex Gordon four and Alcides Escobar one.
8. Kevin Kiermaier is arguably the best defensive outfielder behind strong glove men Logan Forsythe, Matt Duffy and Evan Longoria.
From ESPN Stats & Information: The Rays gain Colby Rasmus, making them one of two teams to have two players on the 2017 roster who had at least 20 defensive runs saved in total last season (Kiermaier had 25).
9. Francisco Lindor won the American League's Platinum Glove for his play at shortstop last season, and the Indians' catching should be good. The departure of Mike Napoli will hurt the infield defense, and Cleveland's outfield defense is somewhat unsettled because of the uncertainty over Michael Brantley's situation.
10. Seattle Mariners
General manager Jerry Dipoto says he always appreciated those Seattle outfields of Cameron and Suzuki and how well they fit Safeco Field. And he has endeavored to put together a group that can run down fly balls: Dyson, Leonys Martin and Mitch Haniger. Catcher Mike Zunino, second baseman Robinson Cano and third baseman Kyle Seager are also among the better defenders at their respective positions.
Honorable mention
Los Angeles Dodgers: They ranked sixth in defensive runs saved last season, but at the moment, their second base situation is fluid. Third baseman Justin Turner's glove work came back strong last season, and Yasmani Grandal is one of baseball's best catchers. Yasiel Puig is a high-end defender, but it's unclear how much he'll play.
Arizona Diamondbacks: The new front office has focused on improving the defense this winter, and the return of A.J. Pollock will help.
Baltimore Orioles: Manny Machado and J.J. Hardy give the Orioles a strong left side of the infield.
Colorado Rockies: Third baseman Nolan Arenado is a defensive monster.