This is a huge bummer as the offseason continues to deliver blows to the Chicago Cubs. Right-handed pitcher Ben Brown reportedly had surgery to address the stress reaction in his neck, leaving his return for the 2027 season somewhat unclear.
There were signs that Brown would need surgery after another setback in the 2026 season. He had the same issue in 2024 that cost him half of his rookie campaign. It is extremely frustrating from the outside looking in because fans have to be wondering if this could have been addressed sooner. Now, according to Jesse Rogers, Brown may be able to come back to the Cubs sometime in the first half of the 2027 season.
Via Jesse Rogers.
Cubs news: Ben Brown underwent cervical spine surgery yesterday in New York to address his lingering neck issue. He is expected to start throwing early in the new year and should be game ready in the first half of the season.
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So, it appears as though the best-case scenario is that Brown will be 100% ready in the first half, but the first reporting of the timeline leaves it unclear. “First half of the season” could mean April, May, June, or July? There’s really no guarantee how long Brown will miss next season, and I guess we don’t actually know how much of the season he’ll miss as the impending lockout looms over MLB, which could delay the start of the 2027 season for several weeks, if not months.
Brown had a breakout performance in 2026 after working with Clay Holmes in the offseason to improve his pitching repertoire. Brown made massive strides in decreasing hard contact and lowering his home run rate, while at the same time generating more ground balls and maintaining a good strikeout rate.
Before the neck issues popped up again in June, Brown recorded a 1.85 ERA with a 24.5 K% rate and a 44.6% ground ball rate. A year after giving up 18 home runs in 106.1 innings in 2025, Brown only gave up two home runs in 68 innings this past year.
Unfortunately, there’s just no way that the Cubs can realistically count on Brown being the same pitcher that he was in 2026. Not only does he have to return from surgery, but he’s also going to be coming back from a long layoff, and with the lockout, there’s going to be no access to the team for several months. This isn’t to say that Brown can’t return and be dominant once again, but the chances of that have taken a hit.
On the positive side, the hope is that the surgery will end the neck issue for Brown, as it seemed to be destined to come up throughout his career.
The Cubs are expected to add multiple starting pitchers this offseason, and they should be aggressive in targeting high upside because they have four pitchers in the rotation that have giant question marks around them heading into 2027.
Cubs Starting Rotation Uncertainty
Justin Steele – Has not pitched in the majors since April 2025
Cade Horton – Tommy John Surgery, not expected back until July at the earliest
Ben Brown – Neck surgery, “ready by first half”
Edward Cabrera – Coming back after massive decline in 2026
No one’s going to feel sorry for the Cubs. Time to get to work, Jed.
