That looked bad. Chicago Cubs pitcher Edward Cabrera is headed to the injured list after suffering a strain in either his left hamstring or adductor after covering first base in Tuesday night’s game against the New York Mets. Cabrera was carted off the field, and you can just tell by Craig Counsell’s postgame reaction that the Cubs are exasperated over all the pitching injuries so far in 2026.
Counsell said Cabrera will hopefully have an MRI on Wednesday. After the imaging is done, the Cubs will know how long Cabrera will miss, but right now, you can expect the team to be without him for at least a month.
At this point, you’re just hoping that Cabrera doesn’t need surgery because that would ultimately end his 2026 season. So far this year, Cabrera has posted a 5.10 ERA in 14 starts.
The Cubs were hoping to get a bit stronger in the rotation with the return of Matthew Boyd this weekend against the Milwaukee Brewers, which would have also given the bullpen a boost by pushing Colin Rea back into a reliever role. Now, the Cubs will bring in another reliever to replace Cabrera in Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Mets, and then Boyd will replace a bullpen arm once he is activated off the injured list.
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At 41-37, the Cubs are currently the third Wild Card team in the National League. They’ve been able to somewhat right the ship in recent weeks after a 10-game losing streak, but the starting rotation remains a huge issue, which only becomes more concerning with Cabrera’s injury. The Cubs currently rank 25th in MLB with a 4.61 ERA from their starting pitchers.
That does not seem sustainable, so either guys like Javier Assad or the return of Boyd, really have to be good, a significant trade must occur, or the Cubs might be doomed.
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You have to be fucking kidding me. Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Edward Cabrera was carted off the field during Tuesday night’s game against the New York Mets and it immediately looked bad for the right-hander.
Cabrera injured his lower body when making an incredible stretch, covering first base to record the final out of the fifth inning on a ground ball hit to Nico Hoerner at second base. The Cubs’ pitcher stayed down and was eventually carted off.
Cabrera has had a long list of injuries throughout his career, dating back to the minor leagues in the Miami Marlins system, and the Cubs knew his health was a reason he was made available in a trade last offseason, despite his talent. Getting injured on that play, though? I mean, at this point what else do you expect out of the worst luck a team can have because it is almost expected for the Cubs in 2026.
This definitely looks like at least a 15-day trip to the injured list for Cabrera, who missed a couple of weeks earlier this season because of a blister. He also exited early from his previous start because of a cramp in his hand.
So far in 2026, the Cubs have lost Cade Horton for the rest of the season, Matthew Boyd has been on the injured list twice, the second time after a freak accident playing with his kids, Jameson Taillon is currently on the injured list, while the outlook on Justin Steele got worse today, when Jed Hoyer said the lefty wasn’t expected to make starts this year if he returned at all.
The Cubs are hanging around in the playoff picture in the National League thanks to the Wild Card, and it’s almost a miracle at this point when you take into account how many pitching injuries they’ve dealt with before the midway point of the season.
