As if the Cubs’ starting-pitching need wasn’t big enough already, it’s even bigger now.
Righty starter Jameson Taillon hit the injured list Friday. He strained his right calf while running after throwing a bullpen session Thursday.
Manager Craig Counsell said Taillon is expected to be on the shelf for more than a month.
“He’s going to miss a pretty significant amount of time,” Counsell said before 11-3 win over the Cardinals. “These things happen. You have to, as an organization, be prepared for the next step, the next solution, and that’s where we’ll be.”
The Cubs brought lefty Jordan Wicks up from Triple-A Iowa to fill Taillon’s vacated spot on the active roster, though Counsell said Wicks is going to pitch out of the bullpen. Saturday, which was scheduled to be Taillon’s next turn in the rotation, will be a bullpen game for the Cubs, Counsell said.
Of course, starting pitching was already the team’s No. 1 need heading toward the trade deadline at the end of the month.
They’re without lefty Justin Steele for the remainder of the season. Righty Javier Assad is still roughly a month away from returning, Counsell said Friday. And even though lefty Shota Imanaga recently returned from his own lengthy IL stay, there have been inconsistent performances from Taillon, righty Colin Rea and righty Ben Brown, who was sent to the minor leagues when Imanaga came back.
With another important veteran piece removed from the rotation, an even brighter spotlight shines on what Jed Hoyer’s front office can do before the deadline.
In the meantime, though, the Cubs need to figure out how they’ll cover the handful of games before the All-Star break and the end of the season’s first half. They have an off day Monday, which figures to be helpful, and the break will give their active starters a four-day respite.
Counsell said Friday that the Cubs could stretch out a reliever in their quest for a solution and that right-hander Chris Flexen is a candidate for such an assignment. Flexen – who has spent much of his major league career as a starter and made 30 starts for the White Sox last season – threw 50 pitches over four innings in a recent relief outing against the Astros.
“He is a candidate to be stretched out, for sure,” Counsell said. “He’s prepared, at this point, to do a little bit more. … He threw 160 innings as a major league starter last year. And he’s done it multiple times in his career.”
On a more permanent basis, though, the Cubs are obviously stuck with searching for answers on the trade market ahead of the deadline at the end of the month.
Names generating various levels of buzz across the sport include Marlins righty Sandy Alcantara, though the former Cy Young winner has struggled to the tune of a 6.98 ERA this season; Pirates righty Mitch Keller, who was connected to the Cubs in recent reporting; and Athletics righty Luis Severino, who has great road numbers and hasn’t been shy about complaining about his team playing its home games in a minor league ballpark.
But that all still has to play out over the next four weeks.
“The trade deadline is July 31,” Counsell said. “I’m focused on the next week or 10 games before the All-Star break.
“[Taillon is] going to be back. Obviously, we’re going to miss him for a substantial amount of time. So we’ll have to see how that unfolds.”