It is almost a miracle that the Chicago Cubs are seven games over .500 halfway through the 2026 season, but you can credit the New York Mets sucking ass for that, I guess. The Cubs completed their sweep in New York on Thursday night, which also wrapped up a seven-game season sweep of the Mets, as Pete Crow-Armstrong drove in the game-winning run in the 10th inning. They’re not 10-3 in the past two weeks, the best record in MLB during that stretch, but they also have five starting pitchers on the injured list, 3/5 of the current rotation didn’t begin the year as a starter, while another was just added to the team via trade two days ago.
The Cubs are 44-37 entering their three-game series against the first-place Milwaukee Brewers, who are 6.5 games ahead in the NL Central Division. The Cubs were able to rebound from a brutal 10-game losing streak in May and finished a 21-game span against teams with below-.500 records at 12-9. It could have been better, but considering the injuries to the starting rotation, it also could have been worse. Again, thanks to the Mets for this week.
So, who the hell is pitching for the Cubs now?
Current Chicago Cubs Starting Rotation:
Shōta Imanaga: 16 GS, 92 IP, 4.40 ERA, 4.86 FIP, 3.98 xFIP
Matthew Boyd: 6 GS, 28.2 IP, 5.02 ERA, 2.62 FIP, 3.17 xFIP
Colin Rea: 12 GS, 79.1 IP, 4.99 ERA, 4.83 FIP, 4.72 xFIP
Javier Assad: 6 GS, 49 IP, 4.04 ERA, 4.74 FIP, 4.45 xFIP
David Peterson: 8 GS, 68 IP, 6.09 ERA, 3.85 FIP, 4.05 xFIP
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Boyd returned from his second stint on the injured list on Thursday against the Mets, and he was a bit rusty in his first start since May 3. However, the veteran lefty did not give up a run, despite walking four and allowing four hits in 4.2 innings. Boyd has only pitched six games this year, missing time in April because of a triceps issue, and then he had to undergo meniscus surgery after injuring his left knee playing with his kids last month. Boyd also suffered a setback while rehabbing in the minors, which pushed his return back two weeks.
Meanwhile, the Cubs got a total of 7.1 innings from Cade Horton before he went down with a season-ending elbow injury. Justin Steele has not returned from his April 2025 elbow surgery, and earlier this week, Jed Hoyer said the team doesn’t even expect Steele to start games this year, if he comes back at all.
Jameson Taillon is currently on the 15-day injured list with a hamstring strain that will reportedly keep him out of action until after the All-Star Game. Taillon last pitched on June 7.
The latest bit of awful news came with a brutal 1-2 combo. First, Edward Cabrera went down with a hamstring strain of his own. MRI results showed a moderate strain, so while that means no surgery that would have ended his season, fans still shouldn’t expect Cabrera to return until August at the earliest.
A similar timeline may ultimately be the best-case scenario for Ben Brown, who is once again dealing with a neck strain, which the Cubs believe is similar to his 2024 neck injury, which turned out to be a benign bone tumor. Brown has been shut down from throwing for the next month.
The Cubs gave Jordan Wicks a shot to earn more time in the rotation, but he was a disaster, so without many more options to turn to internally, the Cubs traded for Peterson. The left-hander didn’t have good numbers this year with the Mets, but he’s been an All-Star in the past, had a sub-3 ERA in 21 starts in 2024, and as a groundball pitcher, there is optimism that Peterson can flourish with the Cubs for the rest of 2026.
Heading into Friday’s series opener against the Brewers, the Cubs’ starting rotation has a combined 4.59 ERA, which ranks 25th in MLB. As a group, the Cubs have only 22 quality starts this year, with just seven in their last 42 games. Out of those seven, three came from Brown, who won’t be around for a while.
So yeah, while that sweep in New York was great, you can’t ignore how dire the situation is for the Cubs going forward. Sure, guys like Boyd can step up; you kind of know what you’re getting from Rea and Assad. Peterson can maybe be steady with a strong defense behind him, but this shit is rough.
There are 15 games left on the schedule before the All-Star break for the Cubs. The first nine are against the Brewers, San Diego Padres, and St. Louis Cardinals, who are all above .500. The Cubs are still chasing the Brewers in the division, while the Padres and Cardinals remain in the Wild Card race alongside the Cubs. So, these next three series will be huge in regard to the standings, but maybe more importantly how much confidence the team can give the front office to be aggressive to add more impact pitching at the trade deadline.
We’ll see if this ragtag starting rotation can hold up, because that’s the biggest concern by far for the 2026 Cubs.
