Looking back, the month of May wasn’t as brutal as it felt, but going 13-16 after winning the first eight games certainly made it feel like a never-ending hellhole for the Chicago Cubs. They haven’t won a series since sweeping the Cincinnati Reds, the offense disappeared for three weeks, but the biggest concern moving forward is by far the starting rotation.
Two more pitchers landed on the injured list, as Matthew Boyd suffered a freak accident playing with his kids that resulted in knee surgery. He last pitched on May 3, a quality start in an 8-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Meanwhile, Edward Cabrera has been sidelined since he exited in the fourth inning of his last start on May 20 against the Milwaukee Brewers because of a blister issue.
The good news is that Cabrera’s blister on his middle right finger has seemingly been resolved, and he’s expected to return to the starting rotation this weekend, when the Cubs host the San Francisco Giants at Wrigley Field. The team is certainly hoping that Cabrera’s recent downward trend in stuff and velocity was because of the blister.
As for Boyd, he made a rehab start with the Iowa Cubs on Sunday, and after throwing 63 pitches, he’s back in Chicago. The team initially said that Boyd would throw a pair of rehab games before returning from the injured list, but it’s unclear now if Boyd will come back even sooner.
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Cade Horton is out for the season, Jameson Taillon is flat-out bad now, and Shōta Imanaga has lost his magic, meaning the rotation is in dire need of Cabrera and Boyd to not just return and stay healthy, but they have to be good in order for the Cubs to succeed.
At 32-28, the Cubs are tied for third place in the NL Central, five games back of the Brewers. Chicago is also tied with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Diamondbacks for the third Wild Card spot entering June.
I know much of the angst surrounding the team’s recent woes has been focused on the offense, but the starting pitching was horrid in May. But again, that’s why Cabrera and Boyd are key to turning things around.
The Cubs have already used up all their starting pitching depth, and their latest desperate attempt to fill in was Jordan Wicks, who failed miserably. The 2021 first-round pick gave up eight runs in his first start against the Pirates, and then immediately surrendered two runs in the first inning on Sunday night against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Ben Brown has made a complete 180 since last year, so at the very least, the injuries to the pitching staff gave him a shot to prove himself as a starter. Brown looks like a brand new pitcher on the mound in 2026, but the Cubs are going to need more.
It’s tough losing your ace as the Cubs did in early April, but the rotation held on. However, as the injuries stacked up in the rotation, the numbers took a steep decline. The Cubs ended the month of May with a 5.33 ERA from their starting rotation, which ranked 28th in MLB. They had only eight quality starts in 29 games.
It doesn’t matter if the offense gets back to a groove; no team can win with that level of incompetence from its starting pitchers.
Fortunately, the schedule does become easier for the Cubs in June.
3 vs. Athletics
6 vs. Giants
6 vs. Rockies
3 vs. Blue Jays
4 vs. Mets
Those first 22 games in June lead up to a three-game series in Milwaukee.
The Cubs have little room for margin now after their awful month of May. Yes, the pitching injuries sucked, but those guys are coming back soon. When they do, Cabrera and Boyd will determine just how good this team can be. They’ll have about eight weeks before the trade deadline to convince the front office to actually add more help. If not, it’s going to be a frustrating summer for the Cubs if the rotation does not stabilize.
