ST. LOUIS – Presumably, there are new pitchers coming the Cubs’ way.
Jed Hoyer’s front office will be focusing on adding arms ahead of Monday’s trade deadline, at the very least attempting to infuse depth into a roster that’s stretched it to the limits at times this season.
If Hoyer & Co. decide to go really big – Tarik Skubal, anyone? – there could be a new name at the top of the Cubs’ rotation.
But in the days leading up to the deadline, the Cubs are getting really good performances from their existing starting staff.
Excluding the poor performance of veteran righty Jameson Taillon, who was designated for assignment this week, the Cubs are riding a string of exceptional starting efforts, with top-of-the-rotation lefties Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga, in particular, looking like the kinds of arms who could power playoff victories come October.
“We have a lot of talent in our rotation,” Boyd said after throwing seven scoreless innings in Wednesday’s extra-inning loss. “Guys are continuing to build off of good performances, to grow and adapt from what we do in a positive way.
“We have a very good rotation with the guys that are in here. If guys are added, that’s always welcome. It’s going to make us better.”
Boyd has been especially noteworthy for what he’s done since returning from a nearly two-month stay on the injured list while recovering from knee surgery. He’s only made a dozen starts this season, his last seven coming since the end of his IL trip. In those outings, he’s got a spectacular 1.93 ERA, with the Cubs winning all but once.
Boyd went at least six innings in all five of his starts this month, allowing one run or fewer in four of them.
The veteran southpaw, an All Star last season, continues to wince in frustration at the mention of the time he missed, but he sees the silver lining: that he’ll be in good physical shape when the games are the most important.
“Anytime you’re out there every five days, it’s an awesome opportunity to stay in that rhythm and continue to build off the start before,” he said. “My job is to be out there, and it’s more conducive to do that versus being on the IL.
“The one side of being on the IL is you save some bullets in those situations. I definitely feel fresh, definitely feel good. That’s a silver lining to the knee surgery. It feels good to feel good, in total, physically right now.”
But it hasn’t just been The Boyd Show.
Imanaga has been awesome in July, with a 1.19 ERA in four starts.
Lefty David Peterson has allowed only five runs combined in his four good starts since joining the Cubs in a trade.
Even fill-in righty Colin Rea has had more good moments than bad of late, with a 3.35 ERA in his last seven starts.
And righty Javier Assad has bounced between the bullpen and rotation to the tune of a 2.47 ERA in his last 10 outings.
It’s a far cry from a month ago, when injuries decimated the starting staff and the Cubs were searching for anyone to make starts. At one point, the team had an entire rotation on the IL, with righties Edward Cabrera and Ben Brown hitting the shelf on the same day in June, when Boyd and Taillon were still making their own recoveries.
Though they’re not out of the injury woods yet, things are far less hectic on that front.
With additions likely coming at the deadline, the Cubs could simultaneously find themselves looking at restored depth and enhancements to a group that’s already cooking, a necessity if they’re going to avoid the pitching issues that ended their playoff run earlier than hoped last fall.
“There was a time when we were like, ‘Who is going to start games for us?’” manager Craig Counsell said Thursday. “This group has stabilized [things]. That’s not a concern.
“The group has performed. Those questions are gone. But there’s always going to be a quest to get better.”