Cubs: Best and worst free agent signings all-time, by position

Cubs have had some solid luck finding left fielders in the free agent market.

Best: Moises Alou

It was back and forth between Alou and Dave Kingman, but we will go with Alou here. Alou has a spot in the mythical, “Hall of Very Good” as he had an impressive and long MLB career. He is one of 11 players in MLB history to retire as part of the 300-300 club (between 300-399 home runs and a .300+ average).

From 2002-2004 the slugging left fielder called Wrigley Field home after the Cubs signed him to a three-year, $27 million deal. In those three seasons he hit .283/.353/.484 with an .837 OPS, 116 OPS+, 258 RBI and 76 home runs. He made one of his six career MLB All-Star Games in 2004 when he hit a career-high 39 home runs.

While he is most remembered for the infamous “Bartman play” in Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS, the guy was an incredibly good ballplayer and delivered consistently as a Cub. In terms of ranking all-time signings regardless of positions, he is arguably top-five.

Worst: Candy Maldanado

He played all over the outfield, but we will count him as a left fielder for this list. Maldonado was a solid ballplayer from 1981-1992, hitting .258/.321/.425 with 124 home runs and a 109 OPS+. He was part of the 1992 World Series champion Toronto Blue Jays team as well.

Prior to the 1993 season he signed with the Cubs. He only played in 70 games as a Chicago in 1993 before being traded to Cleveland, and in those games as a Cub he hit a dismal .186/.260/.286 with three home runs and an OPS+ of 48. Yikes. The North Side was not sweet for the Candyman.