Old friend update: Here are all the former Cubs on current MLB active rosters

Earlier this year, I wrote this article listing all the Cubs on then-current (mid-April) MLB active rosters. (Yes, I know I missed a couple. That won’t happen here.)

I had a request to update that after all the trades made this past week, so here it is.

There are two simple criteria for inclusion on this list:

• Play at least one big-league game for the Cubs, and
• Be on a MLB active roster as of now.

That leaves out two significant players who are currently injured, so let me list them here: Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos. Also, this list doesn’t include guys like Gleyber Torres (Yankees), Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease (White Sox) and Zack Short (Tigers), and others traded away who never played in the majors with the Cubs.

Here are all the others, broken down by position and then team.

Catchers (3)

Victor Caratini (Padres), Martin Maldonado (Astros), Rene Rivera (Nationals)

Infielders (8)

Javier Báez (Mets), Kris Bryant (Giants), Jeimer Candelario (Tigers), Mike Freeman (Reds), Robel Garcia (Astros), Tony Kemp (Athletics), DJ LeMahieu (Yankees), Anthony Rizzo (Yankees)

Outfielders (3)

Jake Marisnick (Padres), Joc Pederson (Braves), Jorge Soler (Braves)

Starting pitchers (7)

Brett Anderson (Brewers), Jake Arrieta (Cubs), Yu Darvish (Padres), Rich Hill (Mets), Jon Lester (Cardinals), Jose Quintana (Angels), Trevor Williams (Mets)

(NOTE: I’m including Arrieta here because he is a former Cub, now back on the Cubs. He’s the only such player on the current Cubs active roster.)

Relief pitchers (21)

Anthony Bass (Marlins), Aroldis Chapman (Yankees), Brad Brach (Reds), Andrew Chafin (Athletics), Jesse Chavez (Braves), Steve Cishek (Angels), Wade Davis (Royals), Rafael Dolis (Blue Jays), Dylan Floro (Marlins), Derek Holland (Tigers), Pierce Johnson (Padres), Craig Kimbrel (White Sox), Blake Parker (Cleveland), Spencer Patton (Rangers), Brooks Raley (Astros), Zac Rosscup (Rockies), Casey Sadler (Mariners), Joe Smith (Mariners), Ryan Tepera (White Sox), Duane Underwood Jr. (Pirates), Justin Wilson (Reds)

That’s 42, a couple more than enough to fill out a 40-man roster. The team currently with the most former Cubs is the Padres with four (Caratini, Darvish, Johnson, Marisnick), followed by the Reds (Brach, Freeman, Wilson), Braves (Chavez, Pederson, Soler) and Yankees (Chapman, LeMahieu, Rizzo) with three each.

Six teams (Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Orioles, Phillies, Rays, Twins) have no former Cubs on their current 26-man active rosters. Jon Lester, the only former Cub on the Cardinals’ active roster, has not played for St. Louis yet, but is their scheduled starter Tuesday against the Braves.

There’s a decent enough starting rotation in that group, with three-fifths of the Cubs’ 2017 rotation (Arrieta, Lester, Quintana) and Darvish in the lead.

It’d be a little weird having only two true outfielders on this imaginary roster, though Bryant, Kemp and Garcia have all played the outfield before and an outfield of Pederson in left, Marisnick in center and Bryant in right would be at least competent.

Your starting lineup for a ballclub composed of these players:

LeMahieu, 2B
Rizzo, 1B
Báez, SS
Bryant, RF
Soler, DH
Pederson, LF
Caratini, C
Candelario, 3B
Marisnick, CF

That’s a pretty good 2021 MLB lineup, I’d say.

This team wouldn’t have to worry about starters getting much past the sixth inning because they’d have the Kimbrel/Tepera/Chafin trifecta to follow them, along with Chapman if Kimbrel failed, and a couple of other decent potential setup men in Cishek and Chavez.

As I noted in the article from earlier this year about former Cubs managers now with other ballclubs:

There are two former Cubs managers currently managing other teams: Joe Maddon (Angels) and Dusty Baker (Astros), and three other former Cubs players managing: Terry Francona (Cleveland), Dave Martinez (Nationals) and Joe Girardi (Phillies). Let’s say Maddon would manage this bunch, with the other four as his coaches.

Francona has stepped aside from managing the rest of this year for health concerns. But we have another “coach” ready to step in (even though he’s now gone from the team noted in the tweet)!

These former Cubs would be a formidable team, especially with the recent additions of Rizzo, Báez and Bryant.

Sigh.