Chicago Cubs: Forgotten players who suited up in 2016

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.