Derrek Lee traded to Braves for prospects

The Derrek Lee era with the Chicago Cubs was a good one, both for Lee invidiually and, to a lesser extent, for the team. In both respects, however, it was always a bit disappointing.

Lee had two outstanding seasons mixed with several solid ones during his nearly seven years on the north side of Chicago, which ended today when he was traded to Atlanta for three pitching prospects. He looked like he was emerging into one of the very best middle-of-the-order hitters in baseball in 2005, when he batted .335 with 46 home runs and 50 doubles.

Sadly and frustratingly, Lee broke his wrist the following year, suffered through two decent-but-nothing more seasons on the best Cubs teams he played for and had another great year (.306 average, 35 home runs, 111 RBI) as the Cubs stumbled in 2009. The Cubs became a laughingstock this year, and Lee's production, or lack thereof, in the No. 3 spot in the lineup (manager Lou Piniella consistently wrote Lee's name there no matter how badly he struggled) was a major reason why.

Don't blame Lee for the Cubs' inability to win a World Series during his time with him. He hit, at least for average, in the playoffs, and his lack of a single RBI for his Cubs postseason career is far more due to his teammates' inability to get on base rather than his own failings. Part of the problem with the Cubs was that Lee was their best offensive player. If Lee is your best player, unless it's the 2005 version of Lee, you're probably not going all that far. And the Cubs never did, even if he's really not to blame.

Trading Lee was the right move, especially if Robinson Lopez, Tyrelle Harris and Jeffrey Lorick ever develop into anything. Of the three, Lopez is the only one considered talented enough to become an effective big-league pitcher, according to the sources I've read. His Cubs days were numbered anyway with his contract expiring at the end of the season and the club needing to go in a different direction from its current core, at least as much as is possible.