CHICAGO -- Cubs pitcher Brett Anderson knew exactly when he would become the lone wolf. At approximately 6:50 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Cubs finished receiving their World Series rings in a pregame ceremony while Anderson looked on. He wasn’t on the 2016 team, and neither were Wade Davis, Koji Uehara and Jon Jay. But those other three players had earned rings in previous years with other teams. Anderson is now the only active Cubs player without one.

Anderson watched from the dugout as his teammates received their bling, and it made him hope to do the same after this season. It’s been quite the turnaround for the franchise. Just three years ago, the team employed one player, backup outfielder Nate Schierholtz, who had won a championship. Now 24 out of 25 own rings.

“Maybe the rallying cry for 2016 should be ‘Win one for Brett,'” Anderson had joked earlier in afternoon. “I’m the only one without one.”

During a pregame ceremony at Wrigley Field, the Cubs flashed their World Series rings -- except Brett Anderson, who wasn't with the team last season. EPA/Tannen Maury

“That’s hilarious,” GM Jed Hoyer said. “I hadn’t thought about that. I guess he has to work a little harder. It gives him some extra incentive not to be the guy left out.”

Hoyer was joking, of course, but reliever Justin Grimm was not. “He can’t have mine,” Grimm quipped. “We’ll get him one this year. I kind of feel bad. Kind of.”

At least Anderson got to experience the raising of the championship banner before Monday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers -- though he wasn’t clear what the protocol for newcomers was. “I wasn’t sure what to do,” Anderson said. “I thought about going out, then thought maybe not. Eventually, I ran out there. It was cool.”

Anderson starts against the Dodgers, his former team, on Thursday after giving up just one run in his Cubs debut.