CHICAGO -- It’s a weekend Chicago Cubs outfielder Chris Coghlan might remember for a long time, and it’s not for anything he or his team did on the baseball field.

Coghlan is “home” again after being traded to the Oakland Athletics on the eve of spring training, only to be reacquired during the Cubs’ last road trip. On Friday, he finally saw the Cubs’ new clubhouse -- he missed the tour during the fan convention before he was traded -- then on Saturday, he celebrated his 31st birthday. But it’s Sunday that might become the most lasting memory; it’s his first Father’s Day with his adopted son, Judge.

“You can’t script it,” Coghlan said earlier in the week. “You know, to get traded as late as I did in the offseason, then to get traded back to the same team as soon as I did.

“Then you have my birthday and Father’s Day and now going back to Chicago and with these guys.”

“These guys” are his Cubs teammates, who he calls his family. Coghlan claims he has never been on a tighter team. They welcomed him back with open arms -- and he jumped in them.

“This team feels like family,” Coghlan said. “I don’t want to take it for granted. I want to enjoy it as much as I can because I know this is a rarity in this game. You have all these guys pulling for you. You have the city pulling for you. You have everyone going towards one common goal.”

And now Coghlan has his own family to enjoy his baseball career with; he and his wife, Corrie, decided to adopt a baby last offseason using Lifeline Children’s Services. They were fortunate in that there were no hiccups.

“It’s a process which could take three or five years or just a few months,” Coghlan explained. “We were lucky it went pretty quick for us.

“Every state has different laws, and in this case, the birth mom had a plan for Judge and we were grateful she chose us to be Judge’s parents.”

‘Judge’ is actually Timothy Judge Coghlan, and he came home with his new family on Dec. 23, “just in time for Christmas.” A couple of months later, Judge was on the move as the Coghlans headed to Mesa for two months for spring training.

“I remember the first time flying with him,” Coghlan said. “I was thinking, ‘This is crazy. How do you do this?’ And I’m trying to figure it out what it means to be a dad. And then I remember everyone goes through this, no matter what job they have.”

So after settling in and beginning to introduce Judge to his Cubs family, Coghlan was gone as quickly as he arrived, traded the same day the Cubs re-signed Dexter Fowler. The only good news -- make that great news -- is that the A’s and Cubs both train in Mesa, just miles apart from each other.

“It was an exciting time in spring training, having him (Judge) there, and then we get traded,” Coghlan said. “The good thing was we didn’t have to move. There was some good in that. But after spring training, we had to move again.

“She (Corrie) went out there [to Oakland] for a day or two with Judge and found a place, and it was just different. Our whole life is now on the West Coast and all our family is on the East Coast, but my wife was great. We adjusted.”

But Coghlan struggled with the A’s. He doesn’t want to rehash it all, claiming plenty of “variables” were in play, as there usually are when you’re hitting .146. It's ironic that his struggles probably made him available to the Cubs in the trade market sooner than usual. Even during his struggles, he was able to come home to his new son.

“A child changes your life dramatically,” Coghlan said, with the understanding he’s not the first dad to make that claim. “I’ve always tried not bringing baseball home with me. Now I have Judge.

“A son has made me more compassionate. That’s the biggest characteristic.”

And it has given him purpose beyond baseball, though the self-admitted “very intense” player reiterated that he never had much trouble leaving the game at the field before he had a son. Maybe his faith has something to with that, as Coghlan believes God had a plan when it came to his family -- both families.

“It is so worth it,” Coghlan said of adoption. “It’s such a beautiful blessing. I ask for pictures [on the road] because he brings a smile to my face. ... It’s a story you could only see God’s hands and now I’m back with the Cubs. We couldn’t be happier."

We can tell.