Where Are They Now?: Former Chicago Cubs on Opening Day Rosters

With Opening Day upon us, I decided to take a look around the league to see how many former Cubs will be suiting up elsewhere when the 2010 seasons starts.

I only included players who saw major league action with the Cubs and only players who are on big league rosters to open this season.

While the list is mostly made up of utility players and relievers, there are a handful of players I would not mind seeing in Cubs uniform once again, namely Michael Wuertz, Scott Downs, Jake Fox, and Mark DeRosa.

So on that note, here are the former Cubs that will be playing elsewhere this coming season.

Catcher

Henry Blanco, New York Mets
With Cubs: 2005-2008

Jason Kendall, Kansas City Royals
With Cubs: 2007

Kendall did a respectable job bridging the gap between Michael Barrett and Geovany Soto, while Blanco served as Soto's backup for a year in 2008 and no doubt helped the rookie immensely.

Kendall is the Royals' starter for the upcoming season, while Blanco will back up Rod Barajas with the Mets.

First Base

Jake Fox, Oakland Athletics
With Cubs: 2007-2009

While the man the Cubs traded Fox for, Jeff Gray, certainly has potential to be a key arm in the Cubs bullpen this season, Fox showed flashes of brilliance last season and may have been a low-cost replacement for Derrek Lee, who is in the last season of his contract.

Time will tell if the Cubs traded Fox while his value was high or if they made a mistake.

Second Base

Miguel Cairo, Cincinnati Reds
With Cubs: 1997, 2001

The Cubs lost Cairo once in the Expansion Draft to the Rays but then got him back in 2001 in the trade that sent future Rookie of the Year Eric Hinske out of Chicago.

Cairo has been a solid utility infielder throughout the years and would have saved the Cubs from the likes of Ramon Martinez, Neifi Perez, and Aaron Miles had they held on to him.

Shortstop

Andres Blanco, Texas Rangers
With Cubs: 2009

Ronny Cedeno, Pittsburgh Pirates
With Cubs: 2005-2008

Brendan Harris, Minnesota Twins
With Cubs: 2004

Cesar Izturis, Baltimore Orioles
With Cubs: 2006-2007

Augie Ojeda, Arizona Diamondbacks
With Cubs: 2000-2003

Izturis came to the Cubs in the deal that sent Greg Maddux out of town for the second time, a move that didn't sit well with many Cubs fans. He is currently starting for the Orioles.

Cedeno got every chance to start with the Cubs, as he was handed the job as a rookie, but never quite did enough to warrant keeping the job. He seems to have won the starting job in Pittsburgh over former Rookie of the Year Bobby Crosby.

Ojeda was always a fan favorite with the Cubs but only saw limited action at the big league level. He seems to have found his place as the Diamondbacks' utility infielder and has put up respectable numbers the last few seasons.

Harris was shipped out of town as part of the trade that brought Nomar Garciaparra to the Cubs, while Blanco was just recently sent packing for a player to be named when it became clear that there was no spot for him on the 25-man roster, leaving Mike Fontenot as the backup shortstop.

Third Base

Casey McGehee, Milwaukee Brewers
With Cubs: 2008

Jerry Hairston Jr., San Diego Padres
With Cubs: 2005-2006

McGehee never really got a chance in Chicago and came out of nowhere last season to take the Brewers' everyday third base job and finish fifth in Rookie of the Year voting.

Hairston has been the definition of a utility player his entire career and seemingly always finds his niche with whatever team he is on.

Outfield (Starters)

Milton Bradley, Seattle Mariners
With Cubs: 2009

Mark DeRosa, San Francisco Giants
With Cubs: 2007-2008

Gary Matthews Jr., New York Mets
With Cubs: 2000-2001

Juan Pierre, Chicago White Sox
With Cubs: 2006

Bradley clearly needed to leave town and is now the Mariners' problem. The very opposite can be said for uber-utility man Mark DeRosa, who should still be in a Cubs uniform, as the team now has a rather large hole at second base.

Pierre may well have been the last legitimate leadoff hitter the Cubs have had, as he led the NL with 204 hits to go along with an impressive 58 steals in his one year in Chicago.

Matthews, who was a backup early in his career with the Cubs, used a .313 BA, 19 HR, 79 RBI season in 2006 to "earn" a five-year, $50 million contract with the Angels and was traded to the Mets prior to this season.

Outfield (Backups)

Jim Edmonds, Milwaukee Brewers
With Cubs: 2008

Jody Gerut, Milwaukee Brewers
With Cubs: 2005

Ross Gload, Philadelphia Phillies
With Cubs: 2000

Reed Johnson, Los Angeles Dodgers
With Cubs: 2008-2009

Angel Pagan, New York Mets
With Cubs: 2006-2007

Eric Patterson, Oakland Athletics
With Cubs: 2007-2008

Felix Pie, Baltimore Orioles
With Cubs: 2007-2008

Matt Stairs, San Diego Padres
With Cubs: 2001

Pie and Patterson, both former top prospects who flopped, seem to have found a role as fourth outfielders with their respective teams, with Pie having a solid season all-around last year.

Pagan has also become one of the game's top fourth outfielders with the Mets, getting regular playing time amid injuries last season.

The Johnson-Edmonds platoon was a great one in 2008, but now both have moved on. You have to wonder how much Edmonds has left after not playing last season, while Johnson will always endear himself to fans with his all-out style of play.

If you blinked, you may have missed Gerut's 11-game pit stop in Chicago in 2005, but the former Indians top prospect has become a solid backup for the Brewers.

The same goes for Gload, who made his debut with the Cubs but only registered 31 at-bats in his time on the North Side.

Stairs, who once launched 38 home runs in a season with the Athletics in 1999, is now strictly a pinch hitter who has openly admitted to trying to hit a home run every time he steps up to the plate at this point in his career.

Starting Pitcher

Rich Harden, Texas Rangers
With Cubs: 2008-2009

Jason Marquis, Washington Nationals
With Cubs: 2007-2008

Jamie Moyer, Philadelphia Phillies
With Cubs: 1986-1988

Todd Wellemeyer, San Francisco Giants
With Cubs: 2003-2005

Wellemeyer fell into the dreaded quadruple-A category with the Cubs, as he was too good for the minors but never quite put it together in the majors. Pitching guru Dave Duncan seems to have helped him take the next step, and he is now a serviceable starter.

Moyer was miles from the pitcher he is today, let alone the pitcher he was 10 years ago, when he first came up with the Cubs. There are not a whole lot of pitchers that peak at age 40, so it is understandable that the Cubs gave up on him.

Harden no doubt has the stuff to be an ace, but injury concerns and stamina issues were enough reason for the Cubs to not want to pay him like an ace. He will take his five-inning, 10-strikeout games to the Rangers this coming season.

Marquis, who was a solid 23-18 in two seasons with Chicago but posted an ERA well over 4.00, made his first All-Star appearance last season with the Rockies and will be the seasoned veteran in the youth movement that is the Nationals.

Middle Reliever

Miguel Batista, Washington Nationals
With Cubs: 1997

Juan Cruz, Kansas City Royals
With Cubs: 2001-2003

Sean Gallagher, San Diego Padres
With Cubs: 2007-2008

Chad Gaudin, Oakland Athletics
With Cubs: 2008

Aaron Heilman, Arizona Diamondbacks
With Cubs: 2009

Sergio Mitre, New York Yankees
With Cubs: 2003-2005

Will Ohman, Baltimore Orioles
With Cubs: 2000-2001, 2005-2007

With the exception of Ohman and Cruz, everyone above is capable of starting, and Mitre and Gaudin in particular could see time in their teams' rotations this season if injury strikes.

None of these guys are all that dependable on a year in, year out basis, and Cruz is probably the best of the bunch.

Setup Man

Scott Downs, Toronto Blue Jays
With Cubs: 2000

Kyle Farnsworth, Kansas City Royals
With Cubs: 1999-2004

Kevin Gregg, Toronto Blue Jays
With Cubs: 2009

LaTroy Hawkins, Milwaukee Brewers
With Cubs: 2004-2005

Bob Howry, Arizona Diamondbacks
With Cubs: 2006-2008

Michael Wuertz, Oakland Athletics
With Cubs: 2004-2008

Farnsworth and Downs both began their careers with the Cubs as starters. Farnsworth never developed a good enough secondary pitch to match his 100 mph fastball.

Downs, meanwhile, was simply not the pitcher he is today, as he has been among baseball's best lefty relievers the last three years, posting a 2.26 ERA in 195 appearances and logging 15 saves.

Gregg and Hawkins are two of the most hated Cubs in recent fan memory, as their ninth-inning shenanigans got old long before they lost their jobs as closer. Hawkins has been solid in the setup role since, and Gregg could do the same.

Wuertz, whose slider is among the game's best, was solid in five seasons in Chicago with an ERA of 3.57 in 265 appearances. However, he broke out after being traded last spring, as he had a 2.63 ERA in 74 games while striking out 11.7 per nine innings.

Howry, who was great in his first two seasons in Chicago before a rocky third season, still has valuable closer experience and will serve as the primary setup man to Chad Qualls. He could be closing before the season is over.

Closer

David Aardsma, Seattle Mariners
With Cubs: 2006

Kerry Wood, Cleveland Indians
With Cubs: 1998-2008

Little needs to be said about Wood's time with the Cubs, as it is more or less common knowledge at this point: the once can't miss starter who won Rookie of the Year after striking out 20, then was saddled with injuries before coming back as an All-Star closer.

His first season in Cleveland was less than stellar, but I wish Kerry nothing but the best in the future.

Aardsma is a frustrating one. After coming over in the trade that sent LaTroy Hawkins packing to the Giants, he was subpar as a middle reliever, and the Cubs soon dealt him to the White Sox for Neal Cotts.

After poor showings with the White Sox and Red Sox, he landed in Seattle, where he became the closer and posted an impressive 38 saves and 2.52 ERA last season while the Cubs struggled with Kevin Gregg.