Edward Cabrera made his return to the mound for the Chicago Cubs in Sunday’s series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field, and unfortunately, it was more of the same from the right-handed pitcher. Cabrera, who last started for the Cubs on June 23, when he suffered a left leg injury, could not last beyond the fourth inning, leaving after 3.2 disappointing innings. Yet, it’s what happened after the 11-4 loss that was even more annoying.
There have been whispers in Chicago media about how easy Cabrera will look to make excuses, and well, he had another when speaking to reporters on Sunday. The right-hander allowed seven runs on six hits, including a two-run home run in the first inning. He walked three batters, only struck out two, and when asked what didn’t go well against the Cardinals, Cabrera said he was dealing with a blister.
Via Marquee Sports Network.
“The blister. That’s what affected me in the last inning. I tried to battle through it, but I couldn’t finish the inning.”
🔥 Subscribe to the Untold Chicago YouTube channel to hear Chicago legends tell stories you’ve never seen in headlines — real moments, real experiences, straight from the athletes themselves.
“I started to feel it early on, but during the last inning is when it got bigger, and like I said, I tried to battle through the inning, but I couldn’t finish.”
The blister was on Cabrera’s right middle finger, which has been an issue for the pitcher already this season. Back in May, Cabrera left in the middle of a start against the Milwaukee Brewers with the same blister problem, resulting in a stint on the 15-day injured list. So, I won’t sit here and say he’s making shit up, but the annoying part comes when Cabrera says he had the blister in the postgame, but apparently never let anyone on the team know until he was already out of the game.
Cabrera was asked if he felt confident about making his next scheduled start, to which he said that as always thinking positively, he didn’t believe this blister issue would prevent him from missing a start.
However, Cubs manager Craig Counsell wasn’t as certain and said, “We’re going to have to talk about that.”
In 15 starts for the Cubs in 2026, Cabrera has posted a 5.68 ERA, 1.45 WHIP with a 20.4 K% and 9.7 BB% over 76 innings. He’s still throwing hard, but compared to his 2025 season, all of his numbers are considerably worse. The Cubs traded for Cabrera with visions of him being a playoff starter, but right now it’s looking more like he’s a liability in the rotation, and considering the way other pitchers have performed, Cabrera could be losing his spot.
