5 former Chicago Cubs players you’ve totally forgotten about

5 former Chicago Cubs you’ve likely forgotten about – #4: Reed Johnson

Reed Johnson played for six teams during his 13-year career, but his four seasons with Chicago were among his best. His tenure with the club included a pair of two-year stints, the first of which came in 2008 after he joined the team in free agency.

That season, Johnson hit .303/.358/.420 for the Cubs – and although he was never a power guy by any means (he hit just 23 home runs in his career) – he quickly endeared himself to the fanbase by playing with a gritty, hard-nosed mentality. Whatever needed done, this was the guy who was always ready to give it all to get the job done.

After leaving for the Dodgers following the 2009 season, the veteran returned to Chicago ahead of the 2011 campaign – and he picked up right where he left off, batting .309/.348/.467 across 111 games in one of his best offensive seasons to-date. The following year, he just kept rolling, hitting .302/.355/.444 before the new Theo Epstein-led regime traded him to Atlanta, along with Paul Maholm, in exchange for Jaye Chapman and Arodys Vizcaino.

Neither of those guys wound up doing a whole lot for Chicago, but it was Vizcaino who went back to the Braves in the deal that brought Tommy La Stella to the Windy City back in 2014 – so that’s something.

To this day, if you skip past the legends and superstars, Johnson is one of my favorite Cubs ever – and he’s definitely one I don’t think about nearly enough these days.

5 former Chicago Cubs you’ve likely forgotten about – #3: Mark Bellhorn

When you think ‘Mark Bellhorn‘ (if you do) – you likely remember him as a member of the curse-breaking 2004 Boston Red Sox. But he spent most of the two years prior with the Cubs.

In 2002, Bellhorn was the starting second baseman at the Confines, appearing in 146 contests and really turned in an impressive year at the dish. He slashed .258/.374/.512, drawing enough walks to counterbalance his 144 strikeouts, which tied with teammate Sammy Sosa for the tenth-most in all of baseball.

He couldn’t maintain that momentum in 2003 though, barely batting .200 in the first half with Chicago – prompting the front office to trade him to Colorado for former Cubs infielder Jose Hernandez. The move didn’t do much for the team, as Hernandez batted .188 in 23 games down the stretch.

That winter, Colorado traded him to Boston – where he played a role in ending the Curse of the Bambino and picking up the lone World Series ring of his career.

Funnily enough, according to Baseball Reference, the most similar player to Bellhorn through age-28 (which was his final year with Chicago) is none other than David Bote. So that’s fun.

5 former Chicago Cubs you’ve likely forgotten about – #2: Kevin Tapani

A World Series champion as a member of the 1991 Minnesota Twins, Kevin Tapani closed out his 13-year career with five seasons in the Cubs rotation. At that point, pitching at the peak of the Steroid Era, he put up some pretty not great numbers, but for some reason, as soon as I saw his name, I knew he needed to be on this list.

In Dec. 1996, Tapani joined the Cubs on a three-year deal, sort of bringing things full circle given Chicago initially drafted him in 1985. The right-hander returned to school and, the following year, was a second-round pick of Oakland.

That first year on the North Side, Tapani was solid, although he made just 13 starts, working to a 3.39 ERA in the process. But from there, his numbers were pretty inflated by most measures.

In 1998, despite allowing 10 hits per nine and posting a 4.85 ERA that was a full 10 percent below league average, he was the lucky benefactor of the Cubs’ offense, winning 19 games. For 18 of those 19 wins, Chicago tallied more than 3 runs – with 11 of those victories courtesy of contests where they hung six or more tallies on the opponents.

Tapani ate a solid number of innings in his final two years with the Cubs, flirting with the 200-inning mark in 2000 before wrapping things up with the team – and for his career – in 2001, with a 9-14, 4.49 ERA showing at age 37.

5 former Chicago Cubs you’ve likely forgotten about – #1: Marlon Byrd

By the time he hung up his spikes, Marlon Byrd was one of the guys who had an asterisk permanently attached to his achievements because of PEDs. He was popped twice for positive tests, once in 2012 and once in 2016. But prior to those tests, Byrd spent time with the Cubs.

Signed in 2009 as a free agent, Byrd wound up being the most valuable player on the 2010 Chicago Cubs (according to bWAR) – earning the first and only All-Star appearance of his career that season. He batted .293/.346/.429 for managers Lou Piniella and Mike Quade, playing in all but 10 of the team’s games that year.

In 2011, he tailed off from what he accomplished in his first go-round with Chicago, but still drew the lion’s share of starts in center for a pretty abysmal Cubs team. That next year, once Epstein took control, he was sent to Boston in April in exchange for Michael Bowden and a PTBNL (who wound up being Hunter Cervenka).

So there you have it. Some players from the not-that-distant past who spent time with our Cubs, but have fallen by the wayside given the success we saw in the last half-decade or so. Who are some of your favorite overlooked players? Let us know in the comments.