5 Chicago Cubs All-Stars you’ve definitely forgotten about

#2: Marlon Byrd was a bright spot on the dismal 2010 Cubs

Consider this entry a crossover with our other forgotten Cubs list. Marlon Byrd had a bit of an interesting career, jumping from team to team while twice being caught with PEDs. Before the busts that ultimately stained his surprisingly solid career as a journeyman, he was the lone glimmer of hope on a sad 2010 Cubs team.

Byrd joined the Cubs in the 2010 season after separate multi-year stints with the Phillies, Nationals and Rangers. It was a bit of a mixed bag for the center fielder at that point, but he had just come off the best few seasons of his career in Texas, averaging an OPS+ of 113 in three years as a Ranger. He came into a somewhat messy situation where the Cubs were just spinning their wheels until their inevitable blow-up by way of Theo Epstein in 2012.

Prior to the All-Star Break, Byrd proved himself as a high average center fielder with a little pop in his bat to boot, slashing .317/.365/.480 and mashing nine home runs. It was enough to earn him a spot in the Midsummer Classic as the lone Cubs representative. Sadly though, Byrd’s production tanked in the second half, but he still ended with pretty respectable numbers regardless.

Byrd stuck around with the Cubs for another full season and saw his numbers dip significantly from his All-Star campaign. When the Epstein regime rolled in, he’d be flipped to Boston as part of the long rebuild process to get the team back to relevance. He’d get cut by the Red Sox and suspended for PEDs for the first time thereafter. This would mark the beginning of his trek around the league where he played with six teams in four years and got busted for PEDs once more for good measure.