When he made speaking appearances in the Chicago area when he was owner of the Chicago White Sox (1959-1961) the first time around, it was said that Bill Veeck used to get great mileage out of his purported scheme to level out competition in the Yankee-dominated American League.
He’d begin by recalling his days as owner of the St. Louis Browns and then launch into a discussion of trades.
“I figured,” Veeck would quip, “if we could trade enough Brownies to other teams, we’d louse up the league!”
The story comes to mind at a time when the Cubs find themselves in a rather uncomfortable position of having to look for help during the trade deadline for some more reliable relief pitching and for a quality right-handed hitter who could help change the luck the Cubs have had against left-handed pitching.
There are five prominent right-hand hitting big-league players who were drafted or signed by the Cubs but were traded for pieces that have not yet landed the team back into the World Series. Not included among the five selected is Gleyber Torres of the Yankees, who the Cubs traded to New York in 2016 for closer Aroldis Chapman—a big contributor to the world championship team.
Here are five players the Cubs wish they could turn back the clock since most players they received in return did little to put the team in position to recapture the pennant they hoisted in 2016.
D.J. LeMahieu
The Yankees second baseman is in the running for the American League MVP Award with his numbers this season—leading the A.L. with a .338 BA, along with 15 homers, 70 RBIs, 72 runs, .383 on-base percentage, .528 slugging, and .911 OPS.
If he captures the batting title, he would become the first player in MLB history to win a hitting championship in both leagues. He was the N.L. hitting leader with the Rockies in 2016 when he hit at a .348 clip.
Not only is he a premier hitter—.302 career BA—but he is one of the best fielding second basemen in the majors, having three Gold Glove Awards to his credit along with three All-Star selections.
LeMahieu was selected in the second round (79th overall pick) by the Cubs in 2009 and made his major league debut with the team in 2011. He appeared in 37 games with the club that year and hit .250 (15-for-60) with only two extra-base hits.
The future second base All-Star was traded by the Cubs, along with Tyler Colvin, to the Colorado Rockies for Casey Weathers and Ian Stewart. Weathers never made it higher than Double-A and Stewart hit .201 in 55 games for the Cubs.
Josh Donaldson
After injuries curtailed his 2018 season, Donaldson is having a solid comeback season with the Atlanta Braves with a .256 BA, 23 homers, 58 runs, 58 RBIs, and a .521 slugging percentage.
From 2013 through 2017, the right-handed, power-hitting third baseman averaged 33 homers, 98 RBIs, 98 runs, .282 BA, .377 OBP, and a .901 OPS with the Oakland A’s and Toronto Blue Jays. He was voted the A.L. MVP in 2015 when he led Toronto to the postseason with 41 doubles, 41 homers, and league-leading totals in RBIs (123) and runs (122) while finishing the year with a .939 OPS.
Donaldson was selected by the Cubs in the first round in the 2007 Amateur Draft (48th overall) but never suited up for the team as Chicago traded him with Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton, and Eric Patterson for Chad Gaudin and pitcher Rich Harden on July 8, 2008.
Although Harden helped the Cubs win the division in 2008 by going 5-1 with a 1.77 ERA in 12 starts, he got knocked out in the fifth inning of Game 3 of the NLDS in a three-game sweep to the Dodgers. The following year, Harden went 9-9 with a 4.09 ERA. Gaudin only pitched half a season with the Cubs going 4-2 with a 6.26 ERA in 24 games as a reliever.
Josh Harrison
Despite a horrible injury-plagued season in 2019 with the Tigers, Harrison is what you would label as a typical Joe Maddon type player with his ability to play several positions and hit anywhere in the batting order.
He’s a two-time All-Star who had his most productive years with the Pirates from 2014 through 2017 when he averaged 64 runs, 30 doubles, 9 homers, 46 RBIs, 15 stolen bases, and a .290 BA.
Drafted by the Cubs in the sixth round of the 2008 MLB Amateur Draft, he never played for the team since he was shipped off to Pittsburgh along with Jose Ascanio and Kevin Hart for Tom Gorzelanny and John Grabow on July 30, 2009.
In 42 games with the Cubs in 2009-2010, Gorzelanny went 11-11 with a 4.33 ERA. Grabow worked in 116 games as a Cub from 2009-2011 as a reliever, compiling a 4-4 record, with a 5.02 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 113 innings.
Jorge Soler
At age 27 and healthy for the first time in several years, Soler is coming into his own as a big-league slugger in 2019. In his first 101 games this year, he has 27 homers with 70 RBIs and a .523 slugging percentage with the Kansas City Royals.
Soler was a free-agent signed out of Cuba by the Cubs in 2012. He played for the Cuban national baseball team in the 2010 World Junior Baseball Championship and defected from Cuba in 2011 to pursue a career in the major leagues.
The Cubs sent Soler, who had some big moments on the 2016 championship team and the 2015 club that lost to the Mets in the NLCS, to the Royals before the 2017 campaign for closer Wade Davis.
Davis did come through in his role, being successful for 32 saves in 33 opportunities and finishing the year with a 4-2 record and 2.30 ERA.
He left the following season as a free-agent, so the Cubs sacrificed a solid future in Soler for a one-year band aid in Davis.
Eloy Jimenez
Once spoken by Cubs president Theo Epstein as untouchable, the White Sox stole Jimenez and top pitching prospect Dylan Cease and minor leaguers Matt Rose and Bryant Fleet for pitcher Jose Quintana.
Although Quintana has been good, what the Cubs gave up in the deal to get him, he should be pitching like an ace.
A native of the Dominican Republic, Jimenez was signed by the Cubs as an international free agent in 2013.
Jimenez, 22, is hitting only .244 but has 17 home runs in 242 at-bats in his first major league season. Minor injuries have slowed him down, but the future looks bright for the slugger who will continue to get better and be a game-changing force in the White Sox lineup.
In his first 66 games with the Cubs, Quintana is 28-21 with a 4.08 ERA and 351 strikeouts in 370.2 innings and in four postseason games he is 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA in 13.1 innings.
The jury may still be out on this deal, but it appears to be in the Sox favor and the only chance the Cubs will be able to defend it in years to come is if Quintana plays a vital role in a World Series-winning season.
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