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Man oh man does this not look good whatsoever. Right-handed starting pitcher Jameson Taillon was scheduled to make his spring training debut on Saturday against the Colorado Rockies, but was scratched minutes before first pitch. Thanks to a video from Bleed Cubbie Blue, we can now see when Taillon possibly suffered a brutal setback while he was warming up in the bullpen at Sloan Park.
The video shows Taillon pointing to his back after throwing some pitches and then needing to lean on a coach to step down from the bullpen.
Taillon still had not made an appearance with the Cubs this spring training because he was dealing with soreness in his calves. That was my initial assumption as to why he was scratched on Saturday, but after watching that video it looks like something worse.
The Cubs are counting on Taillon to be a huge part of their starting rotation, which is why he was signed to a four-year contract last offseason. While the veteran had a bumpy start to his Cubs career, Taillon pitched to his capabilities in the final three months of the 2023 season, which gave fans optimism that he could be a workhorse in 2024 alongside Justin Steele, Shōta Imanaga and Kyle Hendricks as the four main starting pitchers.
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Well, now the Cubs might not have Taillon on the Opening Day roster if this new injury is serious. Even if it’s not a longterm problem, watching Taillon struggle to get down from the bullpen doesn’t make me feel good. At this point, I think Taillon begins on the 15-day injured list and hopefully that’s the minimum time he misses.
As for the Cubs pitching depth, Drew Smyly, Javier Assad, Hayden Wesneski and Jordan Wicks all entered spring training competing for the fifth starter role. Now, those guys could be vying for two spots in the starting rotation following this Taillon development.
On the free agent market, Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery remain unsigned. Montgomery has been the starter most connected to the Cubs and MLB execs still believe he could be a realistic option for the Cubs and that was before Taillon’s setback on Saturday.
The Cubs have not yet released a statement on Taillon.
UPDATE
Cubs manager Craig Counsell spoke to reporters following Saturday’s game and gave an update on Jameson Taillon. Counsell confirmed that Taillon had tightness in his lower back. As of now the team does not expect any further testing on Taillon’s back.
Fingers crossed that this won’t be a lingering issue for the 32-year-old righty.
My guess is that last pitch took Jameson further down the slope and the body’s auto-response to maintain his balance tweaked it. It’s happened to me stepping down or walking on something uneven. If so, it could simply be something that needs to settle down for a day or so and goes back to normal.
Hopefully it’s just a pulled muscle, but it could be worse. He put his hand on his lower spine after it happened. That could be a herniated disc. He needed help going down one step. If it is a disc problem it will take some time to heal.
Go BIG, or go home.
You FINALLY brought Belli back, which means the Cubs plan on contending for post season play.
If you’re SERIOUS, go get Montgomery or Snell!
Next man up! Luckily we have some deep young depth. But now I’m wondering if Jed goes after Montgomery or Snell?