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Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell spoke to reporters following Saturday’s game against the Colorado Rockies and gave an update on Jameson Taillon. Counsell confirmed that Taillon had tightness in his lower back. As of now the team does not expect any further testing on Taillon’s back. The right-handed pitcher was previously experiencing soreness in his calves that slowed him down to begin camp.
Taillon, who had not pitched in a Cactus League game prior to this weekend, was scheduled to make his spring training debut on Saturday at Sloan Park. He was scratched from the start after experiencing back pain during his pregame warmup in the bullpen.
Fingers crossed that this won’t be a lingering issue for the 32-year-old righty.
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Man oh man does this not look good whatsoever. Right-handed starting pitcher Jameson Taillon was scheduled to make his spring training debut on Saturday against the Colorado Rockies, but was scratched minutes before first pitch. Thanks to a video from Bleed Cubbie Blue, we can now see when Taillon possibly suffered a brutal setback while he was warming up in the bullpen at Sloan Park.
The video shows Taillon pointing to his back after throwing some pitches and then needing to lean on a coach to step down from the bullpen.
Taillon still had not made an appearance with the Cubs this spring training because he was dealing with soreness in his calves. That was my initial assumption as to why he was scratched on Saturday, but after watching that video it looks like something worse.
The Cubs are counting on Taillon to be a huge part of their starting rotation, which is why he was signed to a four-year contract last offseason. While the veteran had a bumpy start to his Cubs career, Taillon pitched to his capabilities in the final three months of the 2023 season, which gave fans optimism that he could be a workhorse in 2024 alongside Justin Steele, Shōta Imanaga and Kyle Hendricks as the four main starting pitchers.
Well, now the Cubs might not have Taillon on the Opening Day roster if this new injury is serious. Even if it’s not a longterm problem, watching Taillon struggle to get down from the bullpen doesn’t make me feel good. At this point, I think Taillon begins on the 15-day injured list and hopefully that’s the minimum time he misses.
As for the Cubs pitching depth, Drew Smyly, Javier Assad, Hayden Wesneski and Jordan Wicks all entered spring training competing for the fifth starter role. Now, those guys could be vying for two spots in the starting rotation following this Taillon development.
On the free agent market, Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery remain unsigned. Montgomery has been the starter most connected to the Cubs and MLB execs still believe he could be a realistic option for the Cubs and that was before Taillon’s setback on Saturday.
The Cubs have not yet released a statement on Taillon.
