Chicago Cubs fans, your prayers have been answered, and Javier Assad is back. The right-handed pitcher has been up and down between Triple-A and the majors throughout the 2026 season, but despite churning out consistent results, Assad has been squeezed out in the name of roster flexibility. Assad still has minor league options remaining, so the Cubs have decided to keep a few other veterans late into the season rather than keeping Assad and potentially losing a handful of other options, even if they all haven’t been performing up to par.
Nevertheless, Assad will be in the mix for the Cubs this weekend against the Miami Marlins. The Cubs have not announced their starting pitchers for either Saturday or Sunday game, so it could very easily be Assad getting the ball in one of those two games. The Cubs last optioned Assad to Triple-A on Aug. 21, when the team made room on the active roster for Daniel Palencia, who was coming off the injured list.
Assad won’t be activated until Saturday at the earliest.
Assad has been the Swiss Army knife of the Cubs pitching staff, really throughout his entire career, but especially this season. The 29-year-old, now in his fifth MLB season, has recorded a 3.46 ERA in 83.1 innings. Assad has made 22 total appearances, while starting 10 games. He’s posted a 3.29 ERA in those 10 starts, covering 52 innings.
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He’s only had two bad outings all year, both in April, but since then, Assad has been excellent with a 2.24 ERA and a 43.8% ground-ball rate. Although the underlying numbers aren’t pretty, Assad has somehow always been able to get the job done. Assad has now pitched in 100 MLB games, and despite a below-average strikeout rate, more walks than you’d like, and a few home runs given up in chunks, Assad has a career 3.43 ERA in 414.1 innings.
Javier Assad gets outs, and the Cubs need it more than ever right now.
Since July 7, Assad has allowed only six earned runs in 27 innings, posting a 2.00 ERA over eight games.
