5 Chicago Cubs players who let the team down during their tenure

Baseball is a game of failure, and the Chicago Cubs are no strangers to failing a time or two. You never know what could happen when you bring in a new player. They could galvanize the team into making a playoff push, or they could crash, burn and be off the roster quicker than the blink of an eye. Here are five players that were brought in by the Cubs to be difference-makers, but massively underperformed.

1. Alfonso Rivas

The most recent entry on this list is former Cubs first baseman Alfonso Rivas, who was acquired from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for infielder Tony Kemp in January of 2020. Rivas was a fourth-round draft pick by the A's in 2018, and he performed well in their system with a career minor league on-base percentage of .391. He made it to Triple AAA Iowa by 2022 and was called up to the Cubs in April of last year.

With the Cubs in need of both a left-handed bat and a 1st baseman, Rivas had the chance to carve out a spot on this roster. However, his performance at the big league level was never up to par and was even atrocious at times. He finished the year with an OPS of .629 with 25 RBIs. His inability to hit for power also spelled doom for his Cubs career before it ever really started. Rivas was released by the Cubs in January, and he subsequently signed a minor league deal with the Padres a few days later. He will likely begin the year with the El Paso Chihuahuas, the Padres AAA affiliate.