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Cubs right-hander Javier Assad has been sidelined this spring on account of indirect soreness, and 670 The Rating’s Bruce Levine relays on Saturday that the righty gained’t be able to pitch in time for both the Tokyo Sequence on March 18 or the membership’s stateside opener towards the Diamondbacks on March 27. Presumably, the Cubs will place him on the injured listing to open the season, leaving him out of motion for at the very least the start of April.
Assad, 27, has discovered loads of success over three seasons within the majors with Chicago regardless of questionable peripherals. The appropriate-hander served in a part-time swing function for the Cubs in each the 2022 and ’23 seasons, posting a 3.06 ERA (139 ERA+) in 147 innings of labor throughout 41 appearances (18 begins) throughout that two-year stretch. That wonderful manufacturing got here despite underlying numbers that have been far much less spectacular. Assad walked 9.9% of his opponents whereas placing out simply 20.2% of them over these first two seasons, and his 44.7% groundball charge was robust however not excellent. That left him with a 4.34 FIP and a 4.59 SIERA over these two years, each of which painted him as a under common pitcher regardless of his above-average outcomes.
When the right-hander was handed an Opening Day rotation spot by the Cubs final yr, it was truthful to wonder if these lackluster peripherals would come again to chew him. He as soon as once more managed to defy the underlying metrics in 2024, nevertheless, posting a 3.73 ERA (107 ERA+) regardless of a 4.64 FIP and 4.72 SIERA. His strikeout, stroll, and groundball charges have been largely unchanged from the prior two seasons, however regardless of that he nonetheless posted the numbers of a strong back-end begin throughout 147 innings and 29 begins. His 4.38 ERA and 4.80 FIP after the All-Star break final yr caught out as a possible trigger for concern, however after an offseason that noticed the membership focus extra on upgrading its lineup and bullpen moderately than the rotation Assad as soon as once more figured to characteristic within the membership’s beginning 5 to open the 2025 season.
These plans should be placed on maintain for now, nevertheless, as Assad is just simply starting to work his manner again to the mound after being sidelined for all of final month by an indirect pressure. Levine writes that the Cubs hope he’ll be capable to proceed to throwing a bullpen session subsequent week, however even that appears up within the air. Given the uncertainty surrounding Assad’s standing, it’s hardly a shock that the Cubs determined to formally pull the plug on him as an Opening Day chance and start exploring different choices to fill out the rotation in earnest.
Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele entrance Chicago’s rotation and are slated to start out the membership’s two-game collection towards the Dodgers in Tokyo. In the meantime, veterans Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd make up the center of the Cubs’ rotation after Chicago added Boyd on a two-year deal again in December. With Assad not an choice for the fifth starter job, it appears doubtless that the gig may fall to veteran swing man Colin Rea. Rea, 34, posted a 4.40 ERA (96 ERA+) and 4.82 FIP in 58 appearances (49 begins) with Milwaukee over the previous two years. He figures to be on the Opening Day roster as long as he’s wholesome, although he does have ample expertise pitching in aid as nicely.
The likelihood that Rea could possibly be used as a protracted reliever moderately than a starter leaves the door open for one of many Cubs’ different potential beginning choices to seize the fifth starter job. Proper-hander Ben Brown dazzled in his rookie season with a 3.58 ERA and three.11 FIP in 55 1/3 innings of labor, and whereas he was sidelined by an osteoma on his neck for the complete second half final yr he now seems to be absolutely wholesome. Jordan Wicks struggled by way of an injury-marred marketing campaign in 2024 however is a latest top-100 prospect with loads of upside.
Veteran rotation arms Chris Flexen and Brad Keller are each in camp as non-roster invitees, and it’s potential both may issue into the competitors for the fifth starter job alongside Rea, Brown, and Wicks. One participant who’s unlikely to compete for the job is high pitching prospect Cade Horton, who’s wholesome this spring after what amounted to a misplaced season in 2024 however nonetheless has minimal expertise on the Triple-A stage below his belt. Whoever earns the fifth starter job may theoretically pitch themselves right into a extra everlasting job that lasts even past Assad’s upcoming IL stint, provided that the 27-year-old has each ample bullpen expertise and minor league choices remaining.
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