Article: Cubs' Pitching Staff Loses Two Veterans, Gains Much-Needed Clarity

[Matthew Trueblood]

Two pitchers landed on the 15-day injured list for the Chicago Cubs Tuesday, but rather than feeling like a further strain for a roster that has already sustained some major blows this spring, this feels like a chance for the team to establish some stability on the pitching staff.

Image courtesy of © Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

It's bittersweet to see Kyle Hendricks land on the injured list for the Cubs, and just bitter to see Drew Smyly accompany him there. Hendricks was overdue to be taken out of the rotation based on the way he's pitched so far in 2024, but probably does have some real physical issues with which to deal. His injury designation is "lower back", which could provide a partial explanation for his poor command. Smyly has a hip impingement, according to the team.

With those two shelved, though, the team gets to bring back Hayden Wesneski, who impressed all observers with his showing in Arizona to close out their road trip last week. As our Brandon Glick documented today, there's real hope yet for Wesneski, albeit most likely in a relief role. Luke Little also gains a firmer foothold than he's yet enjoyed in his big-league tenure, going back to last season. That's a mixed blessing, because Little hasn't yet shown the consistency required of a high-leverage reliever, but he might now see more regular chances to prove himself in that kind of role.

One way or another, the pitching staff gets to settle in a bit, after a tumultuous first 22 games. Jameson Taillon's delayed start was relatively easy to handle, but Justin Steele's Opening Day injury was a nasty shock to the system that is the staff, and Julian Merryweather's literal stress fractures created some severe metaphorical ones for a team already a bit shy on depth. Add to that the early struggles of would-be relief ace Adbert Alzolay and Hendricks's mortifying ineptitude, and the snowball just seemed to keep rolling up bigger.

Steele is, perhaps, 10 days to two weeks from a return to the rotation. In the meantime, Taillon and Shota Imanaga have the leadership of the rotation, and the spots of both Jordan Wicks and Javier Assad are safe. The slot vacated by Hendricks could be filled, not by either Ben Brown or Wesneski, but by both, since the Cubs have 16 games to play before their next day off. A six-man rotation was almost certainly part of the plan for this stretch when the team looked ahead at it from the safety and calm of spring training, and although it will now be tougher to use one, that's still the best bet. Steele should return near the end of that window, and before he does, both Wesneski and Brown figure to get starts, with someone else (perhaps Julio Teherán) called up along the way, to stretch things out and give Imanaga (among others) the rest needed to get him to the end of the season in one piece.

Meanwhile, the bullpen will see a bit more stability, because there are fewer options with which to play. Alzolay, Héctor Neris, and Mark Leiter Jr. figure to remain the high-leverage options, with Little and Yency Almonte in roving roles in front of them. The rest will depend on how Craig Counsell deploys Brown, Wesneski, and whomever else the team turns to. It sounds highly fluid, and it is, but after the tempest of a fortnight the staff has just undergone, it will feel placid by comparison.

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