CINCINNATI -- Standing shirtless inside PNC Park's visiting clubhouse, Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong surveyed the party. Smudges of eye black still covered his face after the win over the Pittsburgh Pirates that clinched the team's first playoff berth since 2020, setting off a wild celebration with Budweiser and Champagne spraying all over a room blanketed in cigar smoke.

As a kid in Southern California, Crow-Armstrong began rooting for the Cubs during the start of the organization's previous rebuild. His father, Matt, had grown up in Naperville, Ill., and wanted his son to follow the journey rather than become a bandwagon fan. In time, their home would feature the framed Sports Illustrated cover with Anthony Rizzo catching the final out of the 2016 World Series, ending a 108-year championship drought.

Surrounded by a blur of activity, Crow-Armstrong laughed when asked if this clinching moment matched what he envisioned: "I didn't think I'd be so cold!"

In bursting onto the scene as an All-Star at the age of 23, Crow-Armstrong helped change the trajectory of this season, which strengthened Jed Hoyer's position while the Cubs' baseball president negotiated his own contract extension.

In trading away Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Javier Báez as part of a stunning sell-off at the 2021 deadline, Hoyer moved upcoming free agents to acquire a large collection of young, unproven talent. While some of those deals were busts, sending Báez to the New York Mets for Crow-Armstrong turned out to be a steal.

Hoyer's unpopular flurry of deals became a starting point in constructing Chicago's next playoff team.

"It was nice," Crow-Armstrong said, that Hoyer and Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins were on hand to celebrate last Wednesday in Pittsburgh. But Crow-Armstrong also looked around the room and name-dropped coaches such as Jonathan Mota, Alex Smith and AJ Lewis for their work behind the scenes.

"This is the best group of people to share this with," Crow-Armstrong said. "We've all worked very hard. We've all shown up every day. That has never wavered. I love being a Chicago Cub."

The churn of transactions at the 2021 deadline also yielded hard-throwing reliever Daniel Palencia, who was acquired from the (then Oakland) Athletics' farm system in a small trade for lefty Andrew Chafin. Fully constructing a playoff roster would take years and require so many more elements.

In recent years, the Cubs changed the leadership structure within their draft room and dove into a modeling system that evaluates amateur prospects and projects future performance. While the formula has evolved, the Cubs still have a type: college hitters who played in the Cape Cod League and demonstrated attributes that would enable them to move through the minors quickly.

Those selections included Ian Happ (2015), Nico Hoerner (2018) and Matt Shaw (2023), as well as Cam Smith (2024), the elite prospect the Houston Astros demanded as part of last offseason's blockbuster Kyle Tucker trade.

Taking a calculated risk, the Cubs selected pitcher Cade Horton with the No. 7 pick in the 2022 draft after he led Oklahoma to the College World Series. Not only has Horton developed into a possible Game 1 playoff starter, his below-slot deal also allowed the Cubs to reallocate some money toward second-round pick Jackson Ferris, who would later be packaged in the Michael Busch trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Busch, who hit his 30th home run in Saturday's 6-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds, has stopped the post-Rizzo revolving door at first base. The unassuming 2019 first-round pick, who played college baseball at North Carolina and spent a summer with Chatham on Cape Cod, is now part of the foundation.

The Cubs do not carry a payroll on par with the National League's other big-market franchises, such as the Dodgers, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. They have also mostly avoided the absolute top of the free-agent market, sticking to their internal valuations rather than making emotional or irrational decisions.

Yet with a week remaining in the regular season, the Cubs are closing in on 90 wins and the chance to host a playoff series at Wrigley Field. Although their process of evaluating free agents is somewhat impersonal, the Cubs still landed on players with reputations for being good clubhouse influences: starting pitchers Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd, Gold Glove shortstop Dansby Swanson and catcher Carson Kelly.

Since clinching their playoff spot, the Cubs have lost three consecutive games at Great American Ball Park, where the Reds are scrambling to secure the last wild card. Players insist there won't be a letdown.

"You've probably heard all of us say, all year, that one of our favorite things about this group is how routine- and process-oriented everyone is," Taillon said. "I know it's boring for quotes, but everyone shows up and does their routine. There's not a ton of emotion behind the day-to-day.

"And then once you get in -- I've been lucky enough to be a part of some October baseball -- it's still the same game. Everything's just heightened a little bit. Again, that's what I love about this group. No one's going to be emotional about it. Everyone's going to show up and do their jobs."

In trying to create a competitive advantage, Hoyer worked with Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts to invest in Japan, an established baseball culture with emerging waves of talent. Only a small group of major-league clubs has a consistent, recognizable presence in Asia. Being real players in that market requires relationships and connections.

Chicago's recruiting pitch includes access to a world-class city, an iconic ballpark and the resources to help a player's on-field development as well as his family's off-the-field assimilation. The Cubs also come with a seal of approval from Yu Darvish, an influential figure for a generation of Japanese players.

Opening this season at the Tokyo Dome represented more than a homecoming for Seiya Suzuki and Shota Imanaga. Facing the Dodgers in the middle of March rearranged the schedule for spring training, building team chemistry and adding a different sense of urgency.

"It really did bond the group together in a great way," Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. "It was good to put something hard in front of you right at the start. That's a really good way to start your season, in hindsight, because it makes you focus on something really quickly. It serves as an attention-getter to lock you in."

On the second day of spring training, Counsell announced that Javier Assad was already sidelined with an oblique issue. By the middle of April, Justin Steele was scheduled for season-ending surgery on his left elbow. Imanaga and Taillon also wound up spending significant time on the injured list. Yet to this point, the Cubs still have not had a losing streak longer than three games.

Anticipating that attrition, Hoyer's group obsesses over pitching depth, and Counsell's staff manages pitchers carefully. October will show whether the Cubs did enough to improve the club at the July 31 trade deadline, adding Michael Soroka, Andrew Kittredge and Taylor Rogers.

Within the past week, the Cubs optioned Ben Brown and Porter Hodge to Triple-A Iowa, demoting two young pitchers who were once thought to be big pieces of the "innings puzzle." Instead, the Cubs created competition and found better options.

Fans and media essentially shrugged when the Cubs signed Colin Rea to a one-year, $5 million contract last winter, but the swingman has won 10 games and covered 150-plus innings.

In building a bullpen on a budget, the Cubs identified Brad Keller (2.16 ERA), Drew Pomeranz (2.30 ERA) and Caleb Thielbar (1.94 ERA), relievers acquired, respectively, via a minor-league contract, a minor trade and a $2.75 million major-league free-agent contract.

That group brings a sense of appreciation for the grind of the 162-game season, as well as the buy-in for Counsell's "out-getters" philosophy.

"It's such a long season, you need everyone to contribute," Rea said. "It's being willing to have an open mind, and willing to do what the team needs to give us the best shot at winning. It's going to be big for us moving forward."

How the playoff-bound Cubs were built for the long haul