Cubs weigh pitching options heading into twin bill after Saturday rainout

CLEVELAND -- The Cubs were hit with a setback to their rotation on Friday night, and then a storm approaching Cleveland on Saturday evening presented another obstacle for the starting group.

A day after Cade Horton exited early due to right forearm discomfort, the Cubs had their planned night game against the Guardians postponed due to rain. The teams are scheduled to play a traditional doubleheader, beginning at 12:10 p.m. CT Sunday at Progressive Field.

The inclement weather gave the North Siders more time to weigh the options for adding arms for Sunday’s twin bill. Righty Edward Cabrera is slated to start Game 1 and lefty Shota Imanaga in Game 2, but any additional pitching moves are in a holding pattern.

The Cubs will have the ability to promote a 27th man for the doubleheader, but the ballclub is also expected to place Horton on the 15-day injured list. One piece to the puzzle is the planned promotion of lefty Riley Martin (per a source), who was with the Cubs for Saturday’s workout in Cleveland before the game was postponed.

Horton is scheduled to head back to Chicago, where he will be further examined to determine the extent of his injury. The Cubs will need a starter for when the righty’s turn comes up again Wednesday at Tampa Bay. And while manager Craig Counsell has not officially tabbed Horton’s replacement, veteran Colin Rea is a leading candidate.

Besides Rea, the Cubs also have righty Ben Brown in the bullpen as a multi-inning arm doubling as rotation depth, along with righty Javier Assad at Triple-A Iowa. Justin Steele is currently on the 60-day IL, but he has built up to facing hitters in his comeback from a left elbow injury, and he could be an option later this season.

“Winning stems from depth, because inevitably, stuff happens,” Cubs lefty Matthew Boyd said. “But when you have the ability to insert a guy like Colin Rea or insert a guy like Ben Brown or insert a guy like Javy Assad, it’s what you need, right? You need to have a stable of starters, because starting in the big leagues is hard."

Last year, the 35-year-old Rea also started the season in the bullpen, but he was moved to the rotation in April after Steele needed season-ending elbow surgery. Rea finished the season second on the team in innings (159 1/3) and with a 3.95 ERA. The righty had a 2.63 ERA in five games in September, then spun a 1.17 ERA in three playoff games.

After Horton’s early exit Friday, Rea came out of the bullpen and gave Chicago 3 1/3 solid innings to bridge the gap to the rest of the relief corps.

“Colin could be starting on any other team,” Boyd said. “We’re fortunate as a ballclub to have him. Colin’s really good at what he does.”

The Cubs used nine starting pitchers, plus a handful of openers, last season. Going into this year, Chicago felt confident it had built a solid depth chart behind Boyd, Horton, Imanaga, Cabrera and Jameson Taillon, with Steele on the comeback trail, plus Rea, Brown, Assad and top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins (No. 55 on Pipeline’s Top 100 list), among others, presenting real options.

“It takes all of us,” Boyd said. “In 2016, I didn’t start with the team [in Detroit] and I ... ended up making 20 [appearances]. It doesn’t feel like you’re part of the team early in the year [when that happens], but the reality is that the chunk that you pitched is just as important as Players X, Y and Z pitched early in the year. It takes all of you to reach that ultimate total of 162.”