This was a quiet year for Cubs transactions.
The Cubs went 72-81 in 1955, which isn’t great, but was an 8½-game improvement over 1954. Ernie Banks was emerging as a legitimate star.
But with the Dodgers dominating the league, the Cubs finished 26 games out of first place. Thus they didn’t do much on the trade market. Not a single player-for-player transaction happened until September.
September 22: Acquired John Briggs and Richie Myers from Sacramento (PCL) for Bubba Church and Joe Stanka
This deal requires a bit of explanation.
In 1952, the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, previously classified Triple-A, was given a classification called “Open.” What this meant in practice was that, although MLB teams did have some players they could “farm out” to PCL teams, the PCL was at the same time hoping to become a third major league. By the 1950s, MLB had been stuck at 16 teams for nearly five decades. The population was increasing and a lot of good players got stuck in the minors. This eventually, of course (along with the proposed formation of an actual third major league called the Continental League, which is another story entirely), led to MLB expansion in the early 1960s.
But in 1955, MLB teams like the Cubs could make deals with PCL teams like this, and it was considered a trade between near-equals. Neither Briggs nor Myers was affiliated with a MLB organization at the time of the trade.
Church had pitched three years for the Cubs from 1953-55 with a 5.59 ERA in 36 games (15 starts). That was good for 0.0 bWAR — a literal replacement player. Stanka eventually pitched in a handful of games for the 1959 White Sox — hey, he got a league pennant ring — and then pitched in Japan for seven years, doing quite well (3.03 ERA in 264 games). Good for him.
Meanwhile, Briggs gave the Cubs 0.3 bWAR in three seasons, going 5-6 with a 4.70 ERA in 26 games (17 starts). They eventually shipped him to Cleveland in a deal that didn’t move the needle much either. If the Cubs had waited just a few more years they could have signed this guy named John Briggs, who was a pretty good outfielder for the Phillies and Brewers well into the 1970s.
This deal didn’t do much for the Cubs at all.
November 28: Acquired Hobie Landrith from the Redlegs for Hal Jeffcoat
Jeffcoat had been an outfielder for the Cubs from 1948-53, a decent hitter but nothing special, when he was converted to pitching for the ‘54 season. He had a poor pitching season in ‘54 (5.19 ERA in 43 games) but was much better in ‘55 (2.95 ERA in 50 games, 2.2 bWAR).
So naturally, instead of developing that further — and to be sure, Jeffcoat was already 30 — they traded him.
This would have been a really good deal if the Cubs had just kept Landrith, who was 26 and a decent catcher. But they traded him away, too.
Jeffcoat put up 4.9 bWAR in three years in Cincinnati. Landrith was gone after one okay season with the Cubs, but was still playing in MLB in 1963.
Another failed trade.
December 9: Acquired Don Hoak, Russ Meyer and Walt Moryn from the Dodgers for Don Elston and Randy Jackson
In a previous edition of this series we learned how much Hoak hated being a Cub, so much that he lasted only one year before being traded. Meyer had been with the Cubs previously, three years from 1946-48, threw reasonably well, then was dealt to the Phillies and had some good years there and with the Dodgers. His return lasted 20 games before Cincinnati claimed him on waivers.
Walt “Moose” Moryn became a regular outfielder for the Cubs for four full seasons and part of a fifth. He made the NL All-Star team and became a fan favorite, posting 10.3 bWAR as a Cub. They dealt him in 1960, but he was pretty much done by then. The photo of Moryn at the top of this post was taken June 1, 1960 in San Francisco. He was traded to the Cardinals two weeks later.
The Cubs reacquired Elston from the Dodgers later and he put together some good relief seasons. Jackson had been a solid third baseman for six years from 1950-55 but they traded him at the right time, he didn’t do much for the Dodgers.
Despite having to dump Hoak after one year, this was a good trade for the Cubs. But overall these three deals get a D grade.