Maybe the team’s worst nightmare will actually be the leading reason that will incentivize Jed Hoyer and the Chicago Cubs front office to become more aggressive in the trade market. It’s been a season straight out of hell in regard to pitching injuries, and as we get closer to the 2026 MLB trade deadline, the Cubs aren’t exactly getting all the best updates from their sidelined pitchers.
Both the starting rotation and bullpen have been greatly affected by injuries, but the Cubs have maintained a playoff spot through the adversity. They may not be in a position to earn a first-round bye, but if they have any intention of going deep in October, then they’ll have to weigh the risk at the trade deadline to obtain much-needed help. Some of the latest injury updates point to the Cubs absolutely needing to make a few big deals at the trade deadline.
Cubs Pitching Injury Updates
Daniel Palencia has been on the injured list twice this season, and he hasn’t pitched since June 15 against the Colorado Rockies. The closer was initially expected to return in early August, but unfortunately, Palencia suffered a setback during the All-Star break.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell had updates on Palencia, among others, following the break. Palencia seems to be in a holding pattern after going down to Arizona.
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Injury updates from Counsell via Elise Menaker.
Went to Arizona for the All-Star break, stayed there. Making progress but “not moving forward… so we’re having to repeat some steps so far.” Original timetable (early August) pushed back to mid-August.
The lone piece of positive news is that veteran lefty Hoby Milner should return by Aug. 1. He went out with appendicitis, so given that it wasn’t a baseball-related injury, Milner doesn’t have to worry about any actual pain from his arm. He had a 3.53 ERA in 35.2 innings before going on the injured list in late June.
As far as the starting rotation goes, Edward Cabrera won’t be back until the middle of August at the earliest. Meanwhile, Ben Brown has a neck strain, but the Cubs aren’t exactly 100% sure how his recovery will proceed even when it seems like he’s made progress.
“Everything has been really good,” switching off between throwing plyo balls and baseballs. “He’s been asymptomatic for a number of days now, but I don’t know if that means he’s healed up necessarily… we need to stretch that time out to make sure we don’t recreate them.”
As for Justin Steele, the time is running out for him to return, making September the best-case scenario, as he still looks to come back from elbow surgery and a setback in April.
“Throwing bullpens first week of August, longer ramp up because hasn’t pitched in two years.”
So, I’m not really sure the Cubs can count on Palencia, Brown, and Steele with 100% certainty down the stretch. Not really sure what Cabrera will give you after missing a couple of months, which leaves the team with a handful of major question marks once you start to plan out a pitching staff for the playoffs.
That might mean a group of up to four new pitchers at the trade deadline being the ultimate dream for the Cubs. However, three is more realistic, and probably two are the actual names they’ll get. Looking at the 2025 trade deadline, the star names are so hard to get, but it doesn’t mean a pitcher like Andrew Kittredge/s ilk can’t contribute.
Still, the number of injuries this time around could sway the Cubs to make bigger trades to put them in a better position to line up against the best teams in the National League in October.
