5 Forgotten Chicago Cubs who are still playing Major League Baseball

Free Agent acquisitions, trades, and waiver claims remain the most prominent avenues for how players move about Major League Baseball. In this article, here are five current MLB players, who were Chicago Cubs at some point in their careers, and have now found a new home. This isn't equivalent to calling any of the players' news homes to be random or out of place. Furthermore, no players will be compared to Hank Aaron on the Milwaukee Brewers or Yogi Berra on the Mets. The list simply specifies a player's current franchise, when they played on the Cubs, and how the Chicago departure came to fruition.

5. Jorge Soler, Miami Marlins

In June of 2012, Jorge Soler and the Chicago Cubs agreed on a nine-year, $30 million contract. A little over two years later, Soler made his MLB debut. The Cuba native became the 117th MLB player to hit a home run during his first at-bat. Undoubtedly, an aura around a player's potential hovers throughout a team's fanbase when feats such as this take place. The unique records didn't stop at his first game. "El Crudo" became the third player over the previous 100 seasons to hit at least one extra-base hit in his first five career games.

In 2016. Soler's game appearances dropped from 101 in 2015 to 86 games. For the 2016 postseason, both of his two hits occurred in the World Series. He earned a ring with the Cubs before being sent to the Kansas City Royals in December 2016 for closer Wade Davis. Soler remained with the Royals from 2017-2021, producing pedestrian numbers. Near the end of the 2021 trade deadline, Soler was sent to the Atlanta Braves where he would eventually win the World Series MVP in the Braves' first championship since 1995.

3. Jesse Chavez, Atlanta Braves

Pitcher Jesse Chavez is currently on his fourth stint with the Braves. The Cubs originally selected Chavez 39th round out of high school, however, Chavez elected to play college baseball. He has played on the Northside twice in his career. Initially, the Texas Rangers sent the weathered veteran to the Cubs shortly after the 2018 all-star break. In 32 appearances, Chavez posted a 1.15 ERA with Chicago. Following the season, Chavez signed back with the Rangers.

Four seasons later, he signed a minor league contract split with the Cubs on March 13, 2022. Less than a month later, the Cubs selected the contract of Chavez. Like Soler, Chavez won the World Series with the Braves in 2021. Since his last appearance with Chicago, Chavez has played on the Rangers, Braves, and Los Angeles Angels. Less than a week ago, Chavez was activated from the injured list following a shin contusion. He is approaching the 1,000 career strikeout milestone (978).

2. Tony Kemp, Oakland Athletics

To say the least, Kemp's time with the Cubs was abysmal and forgettable. After playing for the Houston Astros for three-and-a-half seasons and earning a World Series ring, Kemp was traded to Chicago at the deadline for catcher Martin Maldonado. In 82 plate appearances, Kemp batted .183/.258/.305 with a lone homer. Disappointment fueled the termination of his Houston tenure as well.

Although the speedy second baseman and outfielder hit a career-high seven home runs in 2019, Kemp slashed .227/.308/.417 over 163 at-bats. During his brief time in Chicago, Cubs fans may remember when Kemp steadfastly pleaded that he was not involved with the Astros' sign-stealing scandal during their 2017 World Series run. Kemp said that he was asked if he wanted to be part of the scheme when he was called up but chose not to participate. Before the 2020 season, Kemp was shipped to the Oakland Athletics for minor league first baseman Alfonso Rivas. According to Fan Graphs, Kemp had the lowest exit velocity of all major league batters, at 84.4 mph, and the lowest percentage of hard-hit balls, at 14.9 percent in 2022.

1. D.J. LeMahieu, New York Yankees

Although fans can easily recognize D.J. LeMahieu due to his playing for the Yankees, this selection was made due to the fact that perhaps not many realize he played for the Cubs. The three-time all-star played just 37 games in his Cubs' career. LeMahieu and Tyler Colvin were sent to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for Casey Weathers and Ian Stewart. The trade has been considered by some as one of the most important trades in Colorado sports history.

Furthermore, fans speculate this trade laid the groundwork for the 2018 Rockies, the same team that defeated the Cubs in 13 innings during the Wild Card Round at Wrigley Field. On the other hand, the Cubs have the most recent World Series title and more National League Championship Series appearances than Colorado. Despite the monumental victory in 2016, one of Theo Epstein's most memorable snafus during his Cubs' tenure was the LeMahieu trade.

LeMahieu is a two-time All-MLB First Team selection (2019, 2020), a four-time Gold Glove Award winner (2014, 2017, 2018 and 2022) and a three-time Wilson Defensive Player of the Year recipient (2013, 2017 and 2018). Despite the accolades, there is no guarantee LeMahieu would've panned out the same way had he remained with the Cubs.

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