Pair of former Cubs castoffs named American, National League Players of the Week

The Chicago Cubs have seen plenty of former players go on to find success elsewhere, but this week, two familiar faces made an especially loud statement.

Kyle Schwarber and Cody Bellinger have been named the National League and American League Players of the Week, respectively, after monstrous performances, highlighted by Schwarber's four-home run game against the Atlanta Braves.

Schwarber's historic game catapulted him into the National League MVP conversation and gave him a career-high 49 home runs and 119 RBI on the season. With a month left to go, we are witnessing the most dominant season the former World Series hero has put together.

It's obviously bittersweet for Cubs fans. The guy we once adored was cast out by the front office and has found success everywhere he's been after leaving Chicago (hitting 212 home runs and counting in the process). But it's still fun to watch the former first-round pick dominate by mashing home runs, and he's setting himself up for a nice payday when he hits free agency this winter. We can only hope that it is with the Cubs.

The Cody Bellinger trade stings even more

As for Bellinger, the Cubs infamously dumped him to the New York Yankees last offseason in exchange for pitcher Cody Poteet, a guy the Cubs designated for assignment before the season even began. It was frustrating because the Cubs essentially moved Bellinger's contract to shed payroll, and they failed to reinvest that money into the team. The Cubs are now tens of millions of dollars below the first competitive balance tax threshold (which has been the team's de facto salary cap for years) and Bellinger is enjoying a fine season with the Yankees.

Entering Tuesday, Bellinger had smacked 26 home runs, driven in 83, and was slashing .279/.333/.504 through 127 games this year. This would have been a major asset to the Cubs' lineup, which has struggled to produce in August. Sure, the outfield would have been crowded and first base is manned by Michael Busch now, but it's never a bad problem to have too many bats. If the Cubs had to trade someone, they could have at least gotten a better return for Bellinger to avoid the trade looking like a complete embarrassment.