Cubs: The best international signings in team history

Over the past decades, the Chicago Cubs have had some great international talent who have made an enormous impact on the franchise.

Internationally the Chicago Cubs have been the top dog when it comes to signing new and upcoming talent outside the united states. The front office doesn’t mess around when it comes to looking for talent, as they are strategically placing pieces together to help the team grow in the long run.

Just take a look at what the Cubs did recently. They signed a couple of prospects who are making a statement in the minors. First is a catcher, Miguel Amaya, a 6’1” native of Panama, damaging people down with one of our affiliates in Myrtle Beach. Just this past year, Amaya hit 11 home runs for a blasting stat line of .235 .351 .402 only in 99 games. Amaya is considered by MLB.com the 95th overall top prospect across the league.

Another prospect that is making headlines is the 6’4 southpaw, who also plays with Myrtle Beach. Brailyn Marquez, the Dominican Republic native, is punching out opponents left and right with his velocity in his fastball. He pitched with both the South Bend Cubs and Myrtle Beach Pelicans.

During his time with the Pelicans, Marquez posted a 4-1 record in the five games he started. His outstanding 1.71 ERA led by him only giving up one home run and seven walks while striking out 26. Like Amaya, Marquez is ranked 68th on MLB’s list.

As wait to see what the future holds for our beloved team. Let us travel back in time and look as some of the best international signings in team history.

Chicago Cubs: Controlling the Mound

1. Carlos Zambrano

The team signed Zambrano, known as “Big Z” out of Venezuela, on July 12th, 1997. He would go on to become one of the most memorable pitchers in history.

Throughout his marvelous 11 seasons in the Windy City, Zambrano would compel a 125-81 record with a 3.60 ERA. His 1,542 strikeouts are second-most in franchise history trailing the legendary Fergie Jenkins, who has 2,038 strikeouts. The 6’4” righty also achieved such high moments during his career; on September 18th, 2008, in a contest between the Cubs and Houston Astros, Zambrano pitched a no-hitter.

Besides his no-hitter, Big Z was a three-time all-star. He also got it done at the plate, as he won three silver slugger awards (2006,2008-09). His 23 career home runs helped him attain a lifetime .241 batting average with a .251 on-base percentage. According to Baseball-Reference, Zambrano’s career WAR rating of 37.7 ranks him ninth all-time in Cubs history.

Chicago Cubs: A rocket behind the plate

3. Wilson Contreras

The Cubs signed the right-handed catcher from Venezuela on July 2nd, 2009, at the age of 17. Nine years in the minors, he finally made his debut in the big leagues when he was 24 as Contreras homered on the first pitch he saw. In his first season in the windy city, Contreras only played in 76 games that season batting .282 average while helping the team achieve the dream of a world series title and breaking the curse.

Throughout his four seasons so far in his career with the Cubs, Contreras appeared in 436 games. He also compiled an 11.8 batting WAR. An all-star the last two all-star games, he is also a member of the championship team in 2016.

Last year, the primary catcher hit 24 bombs averaging an exiting velocity of 88.3, which ranks him 168th across the whole Major League. In the 105 games he appeared in, Contreras slashed a stat line of .272/.355/.533.

Chicago Cubs: Saving the game late

4. Carlos Marmol

When the Cubs signed Marmol in 1999, they knew they had a prospect that would eventually become their late reliever/closer. Like Castro, Marmol is also from the Dominican Republic. Another hard-throwing righty that suited up for the Cubs in eight out of his nine seasons in the big leagues.

In those eight eventful years spanning from 2006 to 2013, Marmol struck out 703 batters out of 2,359 he faced throughout the years. Although he doesn’t have an above .500 winning percentage, Marmol was an excellent pitcher in late-game situations. His career 117 saves put him third trailing legends Bruce Sutter and Lee Smith on the record books. Marmol’s career rate of 11.66 strikeouts per nine innings is the best all-time in Cubs history.

Chicago Cubs: Blasting rockets out of the park

5. Jorge Soler

This 6’4” power hitter from Cuba was signed by the team on June 30th back in 2012. He would make his debut just two short years later against the Cincinnati Reds, where he went 2/4 with two hits, including a home run. Soler would go on to play three seasons with the Cubs. In those seasons, he blasted 27 home runs while holding onto a .258 batting average.

As a member of the 2016 World Series championship team, Soler proved to be a force in the lineup. The 2016 season alone, Soler drove in 31 while only playing in less than 90 games that season. While his strikeouts weren’t the best, but he was drawing walks at least sometimes. At least you can say Soler made some of the pitchers shake, due to his ability to crush the ball if a pitcher makes a mistake.

The squad traded Soler to the Kansas City Royals for relief pitcher Wade Davis. Last year, Soler boomed 49 home runs with a batting average of .265 as he played in all of the Royals’ 162 games.

Chicago Cubs: Others worth mentioning

Current New York Yankee second baseman Gleyber Torres was signed by the Cubs out of Venezuela when he was seventeen. Although he never made the big league roster with the Cubs, Torres showed great potential to become the next big superstar. Unfortunately, Torres was apart of the trade that sent Aroldis Chapman to Chicago.

The team signed outfielder Eloy Jimenez out of the Dominican Republic in 2013 (a month after Torres). Also, like Torres, Jimenez was apart of the group of prospects that the Cubs sent to the White Sox for Jose Quintana.

Welington Castillo was a longtime catcher for the team. They signed him back in 2004 from the Dominican Republic. He played with the team from 2010 to 2015. Over 300 games with the Cubs, he finished his career with a 6.6 WAR.

The next person the Cubs sign was from Japan. Kosuke Fukudome was not only a fun name to pronounce but also a great athlete to watch. Over the four seasons, Fukudome played for Chicago he hit 37 bombs that drove in 169. He also produced 284 walks during his time.