NEWSLETTER
The Chicago Cubs have announced their rotation for this series in Pittsburgh, and it’s a bit of an odd situation.
The Cubs will have Javier Assad go tonight, and then Justin Steele go on Saturday. But they’re still at a TBD for Sunday game.
That’s the odd part, because you would’ve assumed it would be Jameson Taillon, if not earlier in the series. He last pitched on Saturday, May 4, so even if he started on Sunday, that’d be seven rest days between starts. Yet he is not announced for Sunday. Hmm.
So that suggests that maybe he was feeling a little something after his last excellent outing, and you just have to hope that all he needed was an extra few days rest? The sneakier explanation would be that the Cubs wanted to save Taillon for the Braves’ series, but I kinda doubt they’d hold him out THAT long just to have him start there.
So who takes the Sunday start if not Taillon?
Well, Shota Imanaga could start on normal rest that day, but again, maybe the Cubs want to give him an extra day and have him start against the Braves? The Cubs could also go with Ben Brown, who hasn’t pitched in a while, and could be very fresh if he’s not needed out of the bullpen today or tomorrow.
I suppose it’s always possible the Cubs could reverse course on the plan to have Kyle Hendricks make his next start at Iowa on Sunday. But Hayden Wesneski has pitched so well, and I think the Cubs would prefer to keep him in the rotation for another turn (and he’s kinda taking the spot of Hendricks). Still, Wesneski would be on short rest come Sunday, so I don’t THINK he would start that day (even if only for a few innings).
A one-game call-up with a fill-in starter is also possible, but that’s always challenging to manage with the 40-man roster. (Cade Horton is starting tonight for the Iowa Cubs, in case you were curious.)
Then you have the possibility of a bullpen game – maybe you hold out Keegan Thompson this weekend so he can give you three of those innings? – but that’s always tough to PLAN for.
If I had to guess, then, the Cubs are holding Sunday open because they want to see how these first two days of the Pirates series go, and because they want to see what’s up with Taillon. My hope is that he’s good to go that day, but if not, the “starter” might simply depend on who is fresh.
