Important Cubs Depth Piece Suffers Setback

It looked like the Cubs were getting close to having one of their important depth pieces back, but Javier Assad prematurely exited his second rehab start at Triple-A with an apparent injury on Tuesday night. The right-handed pitcher seemingly aggravated his oblique issue that he was recovering from.

Assad missed spring training after suffering an oblique strain in February. He was doing well in his rehab, tossing 3.1 innings with the Iowa Cubs last week, but then on Tuesday Assad left the game earlier than expected. The righty was warming up for the fifth inning, when he felt something on his side.

The rehabbing pitcher threw 67 pitches in Louisville. Assad gave up two earned runs on three hits and three walks, while striking out five batters.

We’ll get official word from the club soon, but it’s safe to say that the Cubs won’t be counting on Assad in the near future. Besides Assad the Cubs are also dealing with pitching injuries to Justin Steele, Tyson Miller, Ryan Brasier and Eli Morgan.

With Assad’s setback veteran right-hander Colin Rea will have to keep filling in and so far he’s been pretty good. In two spot starts Rea has combined to throw 8.1 innings and has only allowed two earned runs against the Dodgers and Diamondbacks, respectively. In his last start, Rea struck out five and walked none in 4.2 innings, keeping Arizona’s offense to only one run.

(Previous Update)

The Chicago Cubs will have to rely on their pitching depth throughout the organization to fill in for Justin Steele. The lefty is scheduled to undergo season-ending elbow surgery on Friday. Colin Rea gave the team a solid spot start this past Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but there’s more help on the way.

Dependable Cubs pitcher Javier Assad made his first rehab start with the Iowa Cubs at Triple-A on Tuesday. The righty pitched 3.1 innings, allowed one earned run on four hits and walk, while striking out four batters. Assad threw 66 pitches in his first live-game action after missing spring training because of an oblique strain.

Javier Assad takes our PLAYER OF THE GAME! pic.twitter.com/YTSJLW09N1

— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) April 16, 2025

It wasn’t likely that Assad was going to be ready by Opening Day once he was diagnosed with a left oblique strain a few days into spring training, so the Cubs planned out the pitcher’s ramp up in early March. Assad will most likely make a couple more starts at Triple-A before he’s activated from the injured list.

Assad made 29 starts and tossed 147 innings, ending 2024 with a 3.74 ERA. He was excellent in his first 15 starts of the year, posting a 2.75 ERA through June 17. The right-handed pitcher only allowed four earned runs or more twice during his first 15 starts, but Assad eventually regressed and had a three-week stint on the injured list because of a forearm strain.

Still, when healthy Assad has shown stability with the Cubs. He’s not flashy, doesn’t throw hard, but he’s able to avoid consistent hard contact against him and keeps the Cubs in games more often than not. Assad has also been good as a reliever, posting a 3.18 ERA in 23 career appearances out of the bullpen as a multi-inning guy.