Cubs “One Hit” Wonders – Bonus – The Three Amigos

Taking a look back at the 10 players (plus 3) who had one really good or great year in their career while they were with the Cubs.

Frank Schwindel, Patrick Wisdom and Rafeal Ortega
Year: 2021
WAR: 5.9
+5.3 WAR = 89.8% Improvement

2021 felt like a giant “F.U.” to all Cubs fans, as the remnants of 2016 were scattered to the winds at the trade deadline. A promising “last dance” for players like Rizzo, Baez and Bryant looked promising, as the team was in first place on June 24th. But a 11-game losing streak dropped them down to fourth, 9 games back of first, giving the front office the justification to trade almost all of the productive players on the roster.

It made for an eventful trade deadline, as fans could at least envision getting some value out of all the players who were dealt. We first heard the names Pete Crow-Armstrong, Daniel Palencia and Kevin Alcantara during that deadline – but also Caleb Kilian, Alexander Canario, Bailey Horn, Alexander Vizcaino and Greg Deichmann. But at the time, we could dream of the best possible outcome for all of those prospects.

On the field, things were dire, as the team went 20-36 down the stretch, including 7 and 12-game losing streaks. A lot of air went out of the fandom balloon once the trade deadline had passed.

But in the midst of this depressing season, three acquisitions played well beyond expectations, providing a little bit of fun for anyone still willing to watch the games.

Patrick Wisdom
WAR: 2.1
+1.5 WAR = 71.4% Improvement

Wisdom was a first-round pick of the Cardinals in 2012, but did not see his power break out until 2017, when he hit 31 home runs for AAA Memphis. But his OBP and strikeout rate were still very concerning. He improved both in 2018, both at Memphis and for St. Louis, where he has an .882 OPS in 58 plate appearances.

Despite the success, he was traded to the Texas Rangers for Drew Robinson, and he spent all but 9 games with their AAA team in Nashville, where he posted a .844 OPS. He was only 4 for 26 with a double in a brief trip to the majors.

In 2020, he was signed to a minor league contact with the Cubs as a free agent, but was lost almost the whole season to due to the Covid shutdown – going 0 for 2 in two pinch hit appearances with the Cubs.

He didn’t even make the opening day roster in 2021, but when Matt Duffy went down with an injury, he was brought up from AAA, playing regularly as 3rd base – as Kris Bryant had moved almost exclusively to the outfield. He would go on to hit 28 home runs in only 375 plate appearances, and had a 188 OPS+.

He was still technically a rookie, and finished 4th in rookie of the year voting – and his 27 home runs set a new Cubs rookie record. The one downside was a 40.8% strikeout rate. But when he hit the ball hard, it went a long way.

He was also solid defensively at 3rd base, with a +4 DRS.

Of the 3 surprising Cubs breakouts in 2021, Wisdom seemed the most likely to be a future contributor, and he did have 2 decent seasons in 2022 and 2023. As the regular third baseman in 2022, he hit 25 home runs, but it took 534 PAs, and his OPS+ dropped to a league average 100. Meanwhile, his defense started to suffer, with a -7 Defensive Runs Saved at 3rd base. And while his strikeout rate improved slightly, it was still among the worst in the majors. 2023 was more of the same, with occasional home runs, lots of strikeouts and poor defense at 3rd. By 2024, Wisdom was relegated to platooning against lefties at first and DH, before being released.

He spent a short amount of time in the Mexican League, and then mashed 35 home runs in the Korean League last year. He was recently signed to a minor league deal by the Seattle Mariners, so perhaps we’ll see a career comeback.

Rafael Ortega
WAR: 2.0
+1.8 WAR = 90.0% Improvement

Ortega came into the league all the way back in 2008, signing as an international free agent with the Rockies as a 17-year-old out of Venezuela. He was promoted all the way from their high-A team to the majors in 2012, but only got plate appearances. He went back to AA in 2013, but broke his tibia, costing him half a season, and was then waived by the Rockies, and picked up by the Rangers.

This was the first of several roster moves for Ortega, both before and after his time with the Cubs.

• Nov 27, 2013 – Selected by The Texas Rangers from the Colorado Rockies
• Jan 6, 2014 – Selected by the St. Louis Cardinals from the Texas Rangers
• Dec 1, 2015 – Signed as a free agent by the Los Angeles Angels
• Dec 6, 2016 – Signed as a free agent by the San Diego Padres
• Dec 15, 2017 – Signed as a free agent by the Miami Marlins
• Nov 18, 2018 – Signed as a free agent by the Atlanta Braves
• Dec 4 , 2019 – Signed as a free agent by the Atlanta Braves
• Nov 16, 2020 – Signed as a free agent by the Chicago Cubs
• Dec 24, 2022 – Signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees
• Mar 31, 2023 – Signed as a free agent with he Texas Rangers
• Jun 18, 2023 – Signed as free agent with the New York Mets
• Jan 5, 2024 Signed as a free agent with the Chicago White Sox

12 roster moves in 11 years with 11 different teams, and only 2 stints that lasted more than 1 season.

So when signing with the Cubs, expectations were not high, with Ortega seen as minor league depth. Prior to his time with the Cubs, he only got regular playing time with the Angels in 2016 (-0.4 WAR in 66 games), the Marlins in 2018 (-0.5 WAR in 41 games) and the Braves in 2019 (-0.4 WAR in 34 games).

Ortega was hitting pretty well in Iowa in 2021 (.818 OPS) , but actually hit better in the majors (.823 OPS) after he was called up on May 26th. That was an interesting day for the Cubs roster-wise, as Trevor Megill was sent to Iowa, Nico Hoerner was put on the IL, Shelby Miller was activated from the IL and Jason Adam was released.

Ortega was not great defensively, especially in centerfield, but hit well enough in 2021t o get at bats, especially after the trade deadline. And he had a few big hits.

The bottom dropped out in 2023, as his OPS dropped to .688 and he had a 0.1 WAR. He moved to the Mets in 2023 (0.2 WAR) and White Sox in 2024 (-0.2 WAR) and did not play in the majors in 2025, playing in 27 games across 4 Mets minor league teams.

Frank Schwindel
WAR: 1.8
+2.0 WAR = 111.1% Improvement

The biggest positive surprise for the Cubs in 2021 was Frank Schwindel. Talk about coming out of nowhere, Schwindel had shown some power in the minors, but no indication that he would contribute to a major league team. And after burning brightly for the Cubs for 239 plate appearances in 2021, he has not shown much of anything since.

Schwindel was an 18th round draft pick in 2013 by the Royals, and showed some power early on in the minors – with 22 homes in A and high-A in 2014. He would hit 7, 20, 23, and 24 homes between all level of minor leagues for the Royals from 2014-2018. And he actually made the major league team in 2019, but after going 1 for 15, he was released.. The Tigers picked him, and he hit 16 homers in AA and AA that year.

2020 was a wash, with no minor league games that season. And after his release by the Tigers, he went to the Athletics.

Schwindel hit very well in Las Vegas, with 16 home runs and a .992 OPS, but only got 20 at bats in Oakland before getting waived. Schwindel was awful in Iowa in 9 games, with a microscopic .502 OPS, but the Cubs needed bodies after trading much of their roster.

Schwindel went on to rake for the Cubs, with a .342/.389/.613 slash line over 56 games, with 13 homers and 40 RBIs.

There is regression, and then there is what happened to Frank Schwindel in 2022. He was given the first base job, and played in 75 games, but only slashed .229/.277/.358. He was sent down to Iowa, where he only had a .595 OPS.

He went to Japan to play in 2023, where he only had a .580 OPS. And after a solid 2025 season in the Independent League with Long Island (14 homers and a .952 OPS in 61 games) he spent 2025 in the Mexican Independent League, but only played in 25 games.

He decided to retire from professional baseball to become Director of Player Personnel for the baseball program at Rutgers.

Credit to Brett Taylor from Bleacher Nation, as he correctly predicted the regression of these 3 Cubs in 2022 and beyond. But for a brief time, Wisdom, Ortega and Schwindel provided a small spark of light in the dark days of the second half of the 2021 season that made games slightly worth watching.