As the Cardinals were rolling past the Brewers in the 2011 NLCS, on their way to their 11th World Series championship and the sunset of the La Russa / Pujols era, the Cubs finalized the deal that would bring Theo Epstein in to remake their organization.
The rebuild began in earnest, with the Cubs trading off what little assets they had and losing-on-purpose to ensure several years of Top 10 draft picks. The major league team was still no good, but the prospects piled up and a winning team could be seen charging over the horizon.