A semi-regular feature showing how former Cub players are doing. Plus, I don’t really fell like talking about the current Cubs at the moment.
I don’t feel like talking about the Cubs after that disaster of a game on Sunday, so let’s look at the ex-Cubs:
Ex-Cubs Position players:
| Name | Team | WAR | PA | HR | OPS | wRC+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cody Bellinger | NYY | 2.4 | 276 | 9 | .847 | 138 |
| Willson Contreras | BOS | 2.2 | 257 | 13 | .921 | 152 |
| Kyle Schwarber | PHI | 1.9 | 284 | 23 | .932 | 155 |
| Cam Smith | HOU | 1.3 | 252 | 6 | .670 | 91 |
| Isaac Paredes | HOU | 1.1 | 257 | 9 | .746 | 111 |
| Ildemaro Vargas | ARI | 0.7 | 227 | 7 | .750 | 106 |
| Kyle Tucker | LAD | 0.7 | 265 | 5 | .716 | 104 |
| Joc Pederson | TEX | 0.4 | 197 | 8 | .786 | 121 |
| Nick Madrigal | LAA | 0.3 | 31 | 0 | .836 | 146 |
| Willi Castro | COL | 0.3 | 205 | 3 | .703 | 87 |
| Nelson Velázquez | STL | 0.2 | 20 | 1 | 1.061 | 202 |
| Victor Caratini | MIN | 0.2 | 179 | 3 | .617 | 77 |
| Trey Mancini | LAA | 0.1 | 4 | 0 | 1.500 | 340 |
| Javier Báez | DET | 0.0 | 82 | 2 | .678 | 86 |
| Vidal Bruján | NYM | 0.0 | 10 | 0 | .347 | 9 |
| Patrick Wisdom | SEA | -0.2 | 34 | 1 | .426 | 12 |
| Reese McGuire | CHW | -0.2 | 34 | 0 | .445 | 36 |
| Jorge Soler | LAA | -0.3 | 243 | 9 | .702 | 95 |
| Jeimer Candelario | LAA | -0.4 | 20 | 0 | .422 | 19 |
| Gage Workman | DET | -0.4 | 38 | 2 | .553 | 43 |
| Carlos Santana | ARI | -0.5 | 26 | 0 | .279 | -22 |
| Owen Caissie | MIA | -0.6 | 174 | 5 | .664 | 83 |
| Zach McKinstry | DET | -0.6 | 140 | 1 | .468 | 34 |
| Christopher Morel | MIA | -0.7 | 69 | 0 | .451 | 27 |
| Nick Castellanos | SDP | -0.8 | 122 | 4 | .560 | 52 |
It’s still Cody Bellinger, Willson Contreras and Kyle Schwarber heading up the list. The only hitter I see possibly joining those 3 is Kyle Tucker, but he’s still scuffling at a 0.7 WAR and .716 OPS, buch lower than I’m guessing the Dodgers were expecting.
Ildemaro Vargas’s been slow decent to Earth has turned into a crash landing, as his wRC+ went from 201 in March/April, to 47 in May to -17 so far in June.
Joc Pederson has jumped up from the bottom of the list to the middle, with an ops of .919 in May. And it’s good to see Nick Madrigal back in the league, playing for the Angels.
After getting hurt in his first game in the majors, Patrick Wisdom is back healthy with the Mariners. He’s hitting .176/.250/.426, with 14 strikeouts in 34 plate appearances. Coincidentally, Wisdom may only be on the roster due to an pair of calf strains to Miles Mastrobuoni, that have kept him out of action all season.
Owen Caissie continues to struggle, with a .664 OPS, 82 wRC+ and a 42% strikeout rate. So, shockingly, he is well behind Edward Cabrera from a WAR perspective. But he is still in the majors at the moment.
Sadly, Nick Castellanos did not resurrect his career in San Diego, as he was DFA’d and then released by the Padres. There’s still time for a Cubs reunion as a right-handed DH/1B, but his .182/.206/.303 slash line against lefties this year is horrific.
Ex-Cubs Pitchers
| Name | Team | RA9-WAR | WAR | G | IP | ERA | xERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Soroka | ARI | 2.0 | 1.7 | 13 | 74.0 | 3.28 | 3.89 |
| Aroldis Chapman | BOS | 1.5 | 0.8 | 20 | 19.2 | 0.46 | 2.98 |
| Sean Newcomb | CHW | 1.3 | 0.9 | 25 | 38.1 | 2.35 | 3.27 |
| Jason Adam | SDP | 1.0 | 0.0 | 26 | 23.0 | 1.57 | 3.44 |
| Aaron Civale | ATH | 1.0 | 0.1 | 11 | 55.2 | 4.20 | 5.06 |
| Brooks Raley | NYM | 1.0 | 0.3 | 27 | 24.1 | 1.48 | 3.40 |
| Anthony Kay | CHW | 0.6 | 0.1 | 13 | 61.1 | 4.40 | 5.85 |
| Richard Lovelady | 2 Tms | 0.5 | -0.3 | 26 | 27.0 | 3.00 | 5.51 |
| Pierce Johnson | CIN | 0.4 | 0.1 | 24 | 22.0 | 3.27 | 6.21 |
| Brad Keller | PHI | 0.4 | 0.1 | 29 | 28.2 | 3.45 | 3.13 |
| Caleb Kilian | SFG | 0.2 | -0.3 | 28 | 29.2 | 3.34 | 3.92 |
| Tommy Nance | TOR | 0.2 | 0.4 | 21 | 22.0 | 3.68 | 3.46 |
| Carl Edwards Jr. | NYM | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2 | 6.0 | 1.50 | 2.65 |
| Shawn Armstrong | CLE | 0.2 | 0.0 | 20 | 18.0 | 3.50 | 3.92 |
| Taylor Rogers | MIN | 0.1 | 0.5 | 28 | 24.2 | 4.38 | 4.71 |
| Brooks Kriske | ATH | 0.1 | 0.1 | 2 | 2.2 | 0.00 | 2.35 |
| Codi Heuer | CLE | 0.1 | 0.1 | 6 | 7.1 | 3.68 | 4.32 |
| Jeremiah Estrada | SDP | 0.0 | 0.2 | 21 | 20.2 | 3.48 | 3.46 |
| Nate Pearson | HOU | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6 | 6.2 | 4.05 | 4.81 |
| Eli Morgan | KCR | -0.1 | -0.2 | 13 | 16.1 | 5.51 | 7.08 |
| Mark Leiter Jr. | ATH | -0.1 | 0.5 | 30 | 27.2 | 5.20 | 4.19 |
| Trevor Megill | MIL | -0.2 | 0.9 | 24 | 23.0 | 4.70 | 2.70 |
| Drew Pomeranz | LAA | -0.2 | -0.3 | 23 | 20.1 | 5.31 | 4.75 |
| Craig Kimbrel | 2 Tms | -0.4 | -0.1 | 15 | 16.0 | 5.63 | 4.01 |
| Chris Martin | TEX | -0.4 | -0.2 | 12 | 10.1 | 7.84 | 7.47 |
| Andrew Kittredge | BAL | -0.5 | -0.1 | 15 | 12.2 | 7.11 | 3.16 |
| Hunter Bigge | TBR | -0.7 | 0.0 | 18 | 19.1 | 6.98 | 3.91 |
| Brendon Little | TOR | -1.1 | -0.5 | 5 | 3.2 | 24.55 | 7.31 |
Michael Soroka has contained his solid season. If only he had been able to do this for the Cubs in 2025.
With the Red Sox 10-game under .500, will they consider trading Aroldis Chapman? I’m sure there would be several suitors at the deadline.
We got to see Caleb Kilian first hand the other night, as he appears to have become a reliable reliever for the Giants. It would be interesting to understand why he never worked out for the Cubs. Perhaps they were too invested in him being a starting pitcher. The Cubs did try Kilian as a reliever in 8 of his 9 games in Iowa last year, but he had an ERA of 7.47 before being released in late April. He did not pitch anywhere the last 5 months of 2025, so perhaps that break was what he needed to turn his career around.
Carl Edwards Jr. is now with Detroit in the minors, still trying to keep that Major League dream alive, but a 15.95 ERA in Toledo is not helping matters.
After a bad start, Trevor Megill is back at closer for the indestructible Brewers.
Cubs in 7 
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