Jeimer Candelario’s path back to Cubs full of ‘full circle’ moments

When Jeimer Candelario was last at Wrigley Field, just two weeks ago with the Nationals, rumors were already swirling around him. He was doing his best to ignore them. 

Even then, it was clear the switch-hitting corner infielder would be a good fit for the Cubs, not to mention that he had come up through their farm system. But it also looked more likely that the Cubs would trade away major-league talent — not the other way around. 

President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer remembers watching his team fall behind three runs to the Nationals, thinking they were about to fall to eight games under .500.

“We ended up scoring 17 that night,” he said, “and then sort of didn’t look back for a while.”

With that run, the Cubs changed course, charting one that intersected with Candelario. On Tuesday — the day after the Cubs acquired him for prospects DJ Herz and Kevin Made — Candelario donned the pinstripes that he wore at the beginning of his career. And in the Cubs’ 20-9 victory against the Reds, he went 4-for-5 with a double and scored twice.

“I remember when I was signing the paper,” Candelario said in the Cubs dugout before the game, reminiscing about inking a contract with the Cubs as an amateur free agent in 2010. “It was a dream come true for me in that moment.

“Right now, seeing that I’m here in Wrigley Field again, man, it’s -really special for me and for my family.”

Hoyer, too, had a “full circle” moment when he called Candelario -after the trade and heard the familiar voice on the phone. Hoyer thought back to 2012 and 2013 when he sat in on development meetings with a young Candelario. Then, on July 31, 2017, the year after Candelario’s MLB debut, the Cubs traded him and Isaac Paredes to the Tigers for Alex Avila and Justin Wilson. 

“It’s just amazing looking back,” Hoyer said. “It does make me feel old, or make me feel like time flies. Getting him six years to the day after we traded him in a deadline deal is pretty unbelievable.”

A lot has happened in that time. 

Candelario became known for his extra-base hit ability, leading the league in doubles (42) in 2021 with the Tigers. He struggled at the plate the next year but put together a comeback season with the Nationals in the first half. 

“Now, I’ve got a lot of experience,” he said. “Now I can handle stuff the right way. And for sure, I’m ready to go.”

The Cubs ended their stretch of five postseason appearances in six years with their championship core and tore down. This year, they pulled themselves out of the rebuild stage, with offseason additions such as elite shortstop Dansby Swanson and former MVP Cody Bellinger. 

Up until recently, however, Hoyer and his group were still straddling both sides of the trade deadline equation. 

“More and more as we got deep into last week, other teams are calling — they were like, ‘You’re not selling,’ ’’ Hoyer said. “People stopped taking us seriously as a seller. Like, ‘Come on, you guys are good. You guys are going to buy.’ ”

They had been leaning that way, as the team stormed back to beat the White Sox 10-7 after trailing by as many as five runs, as they pulled off a one-run win over the Cardinals with a game-saving catch by Mike Tauchman over the center field wall. But they fully committed Sunday night, Hoyer said.  

“We knew he had 48 hours to make decisions,” he said. “And we had decided our direction by that point, but that was when it was obvious.”

That decision brought Candelario back to where his career began. He reunited with former teammates such as manager David Ross, right-hander Kyle Hendricks and outfielder Ian Happ. 

“I’m excited to have him back, and a part of this group, and hit right in the middle of our lineup,” Happ said.

Candelario took early batting practice Tuesday with Christopher Morel, who was a skinny, recently-signed teenager when they first met.

Said Morel: “He’s a really good person, a really good player.”