Chicago Cubs: Forgotten players who suited up in 2016

Chicago Cubs: Even for just a game or a few innings, we will recognize players who, at some point, played in a game with the eventual 2016 World Champion Cubs

No doubt, Chicago Cubs fans who witnessed the 2016 championship will forget about any of the players that were on the World Series roster, or any of the other postseason rosters that year for that matter. The regular season that year was pretty unforgettable as a whole, but over a long 162 game campaign, smaller moments can get lost in our collective memories. It is tough to remember who did what in a 162 games season, even if it was a historical one.

Like every team in the history of baseball, the 2016 Cubs had their share of guys who came in to be temporary fixes and experiments to see if the value can be salvaged on a gamble. Also, like every team ever, some of these players would only spend a very brief time with the club and were gone as soon as they came. Some of these guys were well-known older veterans and others were minor leaguers little fans knew of.

For the most die-hard of Cubs fans, you will remember some of, if not all, of them in some capacity. Others might have to be either reminded of some of the names or will now learn something new about the 2016 team. Here are several players you might have forgotten suited up for the Cubs in the 2016 season.

Chicago Cubs: Even some people who followed this pitcher’s career closely might forget his Cubs tenure in 2016

Twins and Rangers fans had the privilege of having Joe Nathan on their teams in his prime. Nathan was a Twin from 2004-2011 and a Ranger from 2013-2014. He made six All-Star teams over that span and retired with a career 2.87 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 976 strikeouts and 377 saves in 923.1 innings. Nathan from 2004 through 2009 (before missing 2010) had more saves than anyone else in baseball.

Two of those 923 1/3 career innings were pitched in a Cubs uniform. Nathan signed as a free agent in May of 2016 and made his debut on July 24th against the Brewers in a Cubs 6-5 comeback win. He had been recovering from Tommy John surgery when he signed, which is why his debut was well after he inked a deal with the Cubs.

After just three appearances, Nathan was DFA’ed. His final appearance as a Cub was on July 31st in the famous Jon Lester walk-off bunt win against the Mariners. Nathan would go on and pitch a few games for the San Francisco Giants, the club he started his career with back in 1999, then retire. His Cubs career ERA is 0.00.

This is a guy baseball fans know very well, and one Cubs fans often go, “Oh yeah! That’s right,” after being reminded of his incredibly brief stint with their team in 2016.

Chicago Cubs: This is one guy a lot of fans might not remember when mentioned. But he did indeed play for the 2016 Cubs

At the time of his MLB debut in 2016, Gerardo Concepcion was 24 years old and had been in the Cubs organization since signing an amateur free agent in 2012. Concepcion had an up-and-down minor-league career before his debut with the Cubs on June 21st against the Cardinals, where he threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

Concepcion would make two more appearances on June 25th and June 26th before returning to Triple A. That brief stint was all we saw of Concepcion in the majors, just a total of 2.1 innings. He remained with the organization until being released in May 2017.

Not much else to say, this is a name most probably do not remember, but hey, he has pitched more MLB innings than all of our fans and gets to say he was part of a special team.

Chicago Cubs: There was a fourth player to play behind the dish in 2016

The catchers of 2016: Miguel Montero, David Ross, Willson Contreras. Wait, there is one more! Tim Federowicz.

Federowicz was brought in on a minor league deal during the offseason as virtually the emergency catcher/September roster expansion depth. He had played in 89 MLB games from 2011-2014 with the Los Angeles Dodgers before coming to the Cubs organization. While he only ended up playing a total of 17 games in 2016 with the Cubs, he had multiple stints. He was up most of May, a few games in June and in late September/October.

Old “FedEx” hit .194/.212/.258 with three RBI and two doubles with the Cubs. In a game against the Padres, he hit an RBI double off the wall. Fun fact he was the starting catcher in the game they tied with the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 29th.

He has bounced around a bit since and is currently with the Texas Rangers organization.

Chicago Cubs: He pitched his last days in the majors as a Chicago Cub in 2016

Late June/early July was that one point in the 2016 season, where the mighty Cubs were struggling pretty severely. It was also the time when veteran Joel Peralta was briefly a Cub.

At the time, Peralta was 40 and was brought over mid-season after the Mariners cut him. Peralta had himself an overall solid career, pitching 12 seasons in the majors with a 4.03 ERA and 1.2 WHIP in 620 games. From 2010-2013 he made 266 appearances and pitched to a 3.07 ERA and struck out 268 hitters. Fans who followed the game close recognize the name, but it is easy to forget his time in 2016 with the Cubs.

As a Cub, he appeared in five games and pitched only four innings. He surrendered four earned runs and six hits on those appearances. His final game with the Cubs and majors was on July 5th against the Reds.

Maybe you remember these guys, and perhaps you don’t. But they have the unique honor of being part of a historic season nobody who witnessed it will forget. Yes, writing during no sports is very hard.