At the beginning of the Chicago Cubs' first rebuild, when Theo Epstein took over as the President of Baseball Operations, the Cubs needed bodies to fill positions. Theo worked his magic, boosting the farm system; we all know how well that eventually played out. However, he still had to make major league roster-filling additions.
On this date in 2011, the Cubs signed outfielder David DeJesus to a two-year, $10 million deal. It was Theo's first free agent signing of his Cubs tenure.
DeJesus spent a season and some change playing all three outfield positions. He played 232 games with 900 plate appearances, generating a .258/.343/.403 (746 OPS, 103 OPS+) career slash line with the Cubs. In addition, he made a few outstanding catches in the outfield. Overall, his tenure with the Cubs wasn't spectacular, but he was serviceable, and the fans appreciated him regularly taking the field.
Oh boy, remember the standing ovation DeJesus received from Cubs fans at Wrigley Field the day after he was traded to the Washington Nationals in 2013? What a bizarre situation that entire ordeal was. The Nationals sent a player to be named later to the Cubs for DeJesus in a waiver trade. DeJesus practically walked to the opposing team's dugout and pinch-hit against his former team late in an 11-1 Cubs win.
The Nationals placed DeJesus back on waivers almost immediately after his "arrival." On Aug. 23, the Nationals traded DeJesus to the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named later.
The Nationals' original claim for DeJesus never really made much sense. They had Bryce Harper, Denard Span, and Jayson Werth as their outfield starters. DeJesus was assumedly brought in to be a fourth outfielder. However, after only a few days with the club, they placed him on waivers. There was speculation that the Nats didn't want to pay the money owed to DeJesus, but it was strange because they had to know what he was due before claiming him, right?
Anyway, one of my fondest memories of DeJesus in a Cubs uniform was his four-hit game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sept. 21, 2012. DeJesus won the game in the bottom of the 11th with a two-out walk-off RBI single. The Cubs were out of contention, but the Cardinals were fighting hard for a wild-card berth. It's always nice to stick it to those dirty redbirds.
Cubs fans might also remember DeJesus for his time spent as a studio analyst for CSN Chicago's pre and postgame shows. He signed on as an analyst ahead of the 2017 season.
A few other things happened on this date. Today, we are also celebrating the birth of some former Cubs.
More must-reads: