Lesser known ballplayers who are relatives of Cubs greats

Chicago Cubs: The former draft pick of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays is related to arguably the greatest second baseman in Cubs history

Jared Sandberg is the nephew of Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg. The native of Olympia, Washington was drafted out of high school in the 16th round of the 1996 draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He made his MLB debut with the Devil Rays in 2001 at the age of 23.

From 2001 through 2003, Sandberg played in 196 games with Tampa Bay and slashed .221/.297/.406 with 25 home runs, 92 RBI and 87 OPS+. He primarily played third base and was a solid glove.

It’s worth noting he appeared in two games at Wrigley Field against the Cubs when the Devil Rays took them on in 2003, the same series in which the infamous Sammy Sosa corked bat incident took place. In fact, he came in to pinch-hit with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth inning of a 2-2 tie and eventually struck out against Mike Remlinger to end the Devil Rays threat.

2003 would end up being his final season in the majors. He bounced around the Nationals, Red Sox, Astros, Indians and Royals organizations through 2007. In 2015 he was hired to manage the Durham Bulls and since 2018 has worked as a coach with the Seattle Mariners.

Ryno’s nephew might not have lasted long as a player in the majors, but he did hit 18 home runs in 102 games in 2002. Seems like things are going pretty well for him today as he remains in the game.