Hello, the Chicago Cubs stink. Maybe they snap out of it, maybe they don’t, but we keep trudging on. After yet another embarrassing loss, this time an 18-3 destruction in Friday’s series opener against the San Francisco Giants, the Cubs have made a roster move to try and help out their beat-up pitching staff.
Edward Cabrera returned from the injured list as the right-handed starter missed a couple of weeks because of a blister. The Cubs were hoping that was the main reason Cabrera was struggling, and while his velocity did see an increase on Friday, the right-handed pitcher had his worst start of the year. He gave up eight runs in 3.2 innings, including three more home runs surrendered by a Cubs starting pitcher.
The bullpen had to cover the next 4.1 innings before Craig Counsell turned to Carson Kelly to pitch the ninth in the blowout. Ethan Roberts came in for 1.2 innings, and after throwing 29 pitches in relief, he’s been optioned to Triple-A to make room for a fresh arm.
Javier Assad is back up from the Iowa Cubs after he spent the past two weeks in Triple-A. This is the second time the Cubs have added Assad to the active roster in 2026, the first time as a spot starter in April. He was eventually moved to the bullpen, and possibly because of the timing of their appearances in Triple-A, or because the Cubs simply wanted to know if Jordan Wicks was ready to contribute, Assad remained with Iowa when the team needed a spot starter in place of Cabrera.
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But as always, Assad is available to fill in at any role the Cubs need him to. He made a couple of starts at Triple-A after he was optioned in May, but it seems like the organization was prepping him to become a bullpen option again. Assad’s last appearance with the Iowa Cubs was on Wednesday, a one-inning outing before he exited.
Well, technically, I guess the Cubs could be saving him in case they need a long reliever sometime in the next few days. We’ll see how Counsell manages the pitching staff as Jameson Taillon, Colin Rea and Shōta Imanaga are lined up beginning on Sunday. Could we see a quick hook for one of those starters, then have Assad come in?
We’ll see what happens, but as bad as the offense has been, the starting rotation has been equally as bad since May.
