The Chicago Cubs have punched their ticket to the 2026 MLB Playoffs, beating the Miami Marlins 2-1 on Thursday. Matthew Boyd pitched seven strong innings, while a Seiya Suzuki home run and a Nico Hoerner RBI single were just enough to outlast the Marlins. The Cubs are still battling for home-field advantage in the Wild Card round, currently trailing the San Diego Padres, who are in action tonight against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but for a moment, let’s look back at how insane a 2026 season it has been for the Cubs so far.
Every team will suffer injuries throughout the year, some significant, some recurring, and for the 2026 Cubs, it was a lot of both. While the team was fortunate to keep their position players healthy for most of the year, Matt Shaw missed a few months on the injured list; Seiya Suzuki missed a few weeks at the beginning of the season; Dansby Swanson was lucky to miss only a month with an oblique strain; and aside from Alex Bregman’s recent broken face, they’ve been a healthy group. The pitching staff must have pissed off a witch, made a field trip to a haunted house or something, because it seemed like there was an injured pitcher on a weekly basis this season.
Cade Horton blowing out his elbow in his second start of the season pretty much set the tone for how much the Cubs would deal with pitching injuries in 2026.
Every Pitching Injury for the 2026 Cubs
Cade Horton: Tommy John Surgery; pitched in 2 games, 7.1 innings
Matthew Boyd: 15-day IL for biceps strain and 15-day IL for meniscus injury
Edward Cabrera: Two trips to the IL for blisters and a 15-day IL stint for hamstring strain
Jameson Taillon: 15-day IL for hamstring strain
Ben Brown: neck strain, out since June
Porter Hodge: Tommy John Surgery; missed the entire season
Jordan Wicks: Elbow Inflammation; wasn’t available until May
Phil Maton: Three trips to the IL for a knee sprain; had surgery, pitched in 31 games
Hunter Harvey: Triceps inflammation; hasn’t pitched since April; 4 IP in 4 games
Ethan Roberts: 15-day IL for finger laceration, 15-day IL for strained forearm
Daniel Palencia: 15-day IL for lat strain, 15-day IL for elbow inflammation
Caleb Thielbar: 15-day IL for hamstring strain
Riley Martin: strained elbow flexor; 8.1 IP in 8 games, out since May
Hoby Milner: 15-day IL for emergency appendectomy
Gavin Hollowell: 15-day IL for shoulder inflammation
Trent Thornton: 15-day IL for ankle discomfort
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Oh, and by the way, that list doesn’t include Justin Steele, who was expected to return by June but unfortunately suffered a setback in late April. Steele has not pitched for the Cubs since April 2025.
So, at one point, the Cubs were without Steele, their former Opening Day starter; Matthew Boyd, this year’s Opening Day starter; and Cade Horton, who many thought deserved to be the Opening Day starter. Then, in June, Ben Brown went down with a neck strain that ultimately ended his season after he became the team’s ace in May.
On June 24, the Cubs had Steele, Horton, Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Edward Cabrera, and Ben Brown on the injured list at the same time. In late April, the top four relief pitchers were on the injured list at the same time as well: Daniel Palencia, Phil Maton, Hunter Harvey, and Caleb Thielbar. Ethan Roberts and Riley Martin, who both came up and pitched well filling in out of the bullpen, also suffered injuries in April.
In the middle of April, the Cubs had 10 pitchers from their 40-man roster on the injured list. That’s bad enough, but it was worse when you consider that they didn’t really have many options to turn to in the minor leagues, as a total of 31 pitchers in the organization were out with injuries at the same time.
The Cubs lead MLB by using 39 different pitchers during the 2026 season.
Credit to the coaching staff, Craig Counsell, the front office for making key acquisitions throughout the season, and the team for never giving up. It got very ugly by mid-June, when injuries seemingly caught up with the Cubs. However, Pete Crow-Armstrong has carried the team on his back, but he’s certainly had help. The Cubs have the top offense and defense in MLB this year, which they needed to be to overcome the shortcomings of the pitching staff.
It’s the first step toward a longer postseason journey. Do not take a playoff team for granted. This is only the fifth time in the Wild Card era that the Cubs have reached the postseason in consecutive years. Celebrate it. Enjoy it.
It’s been a crazy year. Hopefully, there’s a lot more to come.
“We’re built for the weird shit.” -Pete Crow-Armstrong on the Cubs handling adversity and rising above it this season en route to a second straight playoff appearance.
