Long-lost member of the 2016 Cubs makes a surprise return to pro baseball

He just keeps chugging along, doesn't he? I'm talking, of course, about former Chicago Cubs right-hander and World Series champion Trevor Cahill who, at 37, has signed a deal with the Atlantic League Gastonia Ghost Peppers - having last pitched in an MLB game in 2021 as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Cahill spent the 2022 campaign in the New York Mets organization, but keep in mind that was three years ago - so nobody really knows what to expect from this late-career comeback attempt. Still, it's fun to see a guy who played a role on the surprising breakout 2015 Cubs and the World Series-winning 2016 team hanging around the game nearly two decades after being drafted by the Athletics in the second round of the MLB Draft.

Cahill made his MLB debut with Oakland a few years later, earning the first and only All-Star nod of his career the following season, 2010, even finishing ninth in American League Cy Young voting after going 18-8 with a 2.97 ERA in 30 starts. He followed that up with a career-high 207 2/3 innings of work in 2011 and was rewarded with a trade to Arizona alongside future Cubs exec and current Red Sox president of baseball ops Craig Breslow.

Trevor Cahill was a quietly strong performer during his time with the Cubs

He spent the next three years in Arizona, never matching the output from his first few years with Oakland, before the Diamondbacks traded him to Atlanta in April 2015. By June, the Braves had released him and he latched on with the Cubs in August. He made six appearances during the Cubs' unexpected run to the NLCS that fall, allowing two earned runs in 5 1/3 innings of work against the Cardinals and Mets.

Cahill hit free agency at the end of the season but re-signed with Chicago on a one-year, $4.25 million deal, setting up a strong performance in a historic season in Wrigleyville.

In 2016, Cahill did a little bit of everything for manager Joe Maddon, working to a 2.74 ERA in 50 appearances that included one start and 16 games finished. In his year-plus with the Cubs, he pitched to a 2.61 ERA across 82 2/3 innings of work - the lowest mark of any of his stints with the nine MLB teams he pitched for in his career.

From there, he spent parts of seasons with the Padres, Royals, Angels and Pirates - the epitome of a big-league journeyman. Who knows? Maybe he'll go the Rich Hill route and reinvent himself for one more go-round in his late 30s?