This has actually happened two years in a row, and whether it was Craig Counsell pushing for the signing, the front office, or both, credit to the Chicago Cubs for bringing in veteran Colin Rea and then re-signing him this past offseason. The 35-year-old pitcher was almost immediately asked to step in for the team’s young ace Cade Horton, who was injured in his second start of the year and has undergone Tommy John surgery. Rea hasn’t simply stepped in; he’s been saving the Cubs’ pitching staff, which was crushed by injuries in April.
Monday night’s series opener was the latest example of Rea’s consistent performance. He threw 6.2 innings on 92 pitches and kept the Philadelphia Phillies to one run in the Cubs’ 5-1 win at Wrigley Field. Including his 3.1 innings of relief after coming in for Horton against the Cleveland Guardians, Rea has now recorded a 2.57 ERA in 21 innings in April.
Rea began the season in the bullpen, and his first outing was a three-inning save against the Los Angeles Angels. Rea has earned three consecutive wins on his record since officially joining the starting rotation, and while the offense has helped him out, scoring 21 runs on those three games, the pitcher has only given up a total of five runs.
The Phillies’ offense has been one of the worst so far in 2026, scoring 3.45 runs per game, 27th in MLB. Yet, the bigger point from Rea’s start on Monday was that he gave the Cubs 6.2 innings, helping Counsell rest his depleted bullpen. In the past two weeks, the Cubs have lost their top-three bullpen arms, as Phil Maton, Hunter Harvey, and Daniel Palencia have all been placed on the injured list.
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So, not only was it huge for Rea to shut down the Phillies, but pitching into the seventh inning will have a domino effect going forward. Caleb Thielbar now seems the No. 1 high-leverage reliever, and after pitching in back-to-back games against the New York Mets, he got to rest on Monday. The Cubs don’t have too many proven guys in the bullpen, so starts like the one Rea provided are a much bigger deal given the current state of the reliever situation.
In 2025, Rea made 27 starts and pitched in 32 total games. He had a rough stretch in July and August, but overall, Rea has been the quiet savior on the Cubs. As of July 4, 2025, Rea has a 3.43 ERA in 105 innings. Out of 20 outings during this current stretch, Rea has surrendered more than three runs three times.
Consistent, reliable, steady. Colin Rea has been a steal for $5 million in 2025, and so far he’s on pace to be a great bargain for his 2026 salary that guarantees him $6.5 million.
