With Cubs on search for starters at Deadline, the rotation has quietly stabilized

ST. LOUIS -- When the Cubs were in New York to face the Mets late last month, the state of the rotation had reached an alarming level. Ben Brown and Edward Cabrera both landed on the injured list, joining a handful of other starters already on the shelf. Depth that had been tested was now stripped bare.

“There was a time when we were like, ‘Who is going to start games for us?’” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.

The Cubs’ front office is currently working on answering that question in the days and hours leading up to Monday’s 5 p.m. CT Trade Deadline. And while that is true, the starting pitchers currently in the fold have done their part in pulling things back together, including Javier Assad’s solid effort in a 4-2, 10-inning win over the Cardinals on Thursday.

The five pitchers who currently hold down starting roles -- Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga, David Peterson, Colin Rea and Assad -- understand that help could be on the way. In the meantime, they are more than holding the line. In fact, Chicago’s rotation has operated as one of baseball’s best units in July.

“We have a lot of talent in our rotation,” Boyd said. “It’s been fun to watch all those guys. We have a very, very good rotation with the guys that are in here. If guys are added, that’s always welcomed. That’s going to make us better, but it’s fun to watch [the results lately].”

Assad moved out of the bullpen and back into the rotation for Thursday’s start following the Cubs’ decision to part ways with struggling veteran Jameson Taillon on Monday. Including the righty’s 4 1/3 innings with one run allowed in St. Louis, Chicago’s rotation has a 2.85 ERA as a group over the past 21 games.

Boyd has spun a 1.93 ERA over his last seven turns for the Cubs since returning from left knee surgery. Imanaga has spun a 2.00 ERA in his last eight outings. Peterson -- acquired from the Mets during that rotation scramble in late June -- has a 1.56 ERA in his last three starts. Rea has a 3.35 ERA in his last seven. Assad, while bouncing between starting and relieving, has given Chicago a 2.31 ERA since the start of May.

“This group has just stabilized. That’s not a concern,” Counsell said. “You’re always concerned about depth, because of injuries. … The group has performed. I think those questions are gone. But, there’s always going to be a quest to get better.”

Cabrera is set to begin a Minor League rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa on Friday, offering hope of an impact arm arriving in mid-to-late August. Counsell has noted that the righty will likely need three outings before being activated from the IL. While Brown has resumed throwing in Arizona, his comeback timetable from a neck injury is less clear.

The Trade Deadline offers an earlier avenue for reinforcements.

The Cubs are exploring the potential for a blockbuster deal with the Tigers for ace Tarik Skubal, according to The Athletic, but that is a sweepstakes that will be difficult to win. Chicago has the type of controllable pieces and farm system to make a strong bid, but with teams like the Dodgers, Brewers and Rays rumored to be among the suitors, the race for Skubal will be tough to win.

In the non-Skubal category, the Cubs would prefer to land a controllable arm (Reid Detmers and José Soriano of the Angels are under control through ‘28, for example), but the asking price is always steep on that front. Rental arms like Toronto’s Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes of the Mets, among others, will surely be on the Cubs’ radar.

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has pointed not only to playoff odds, but the odds of clinching a first-round bye as a potential indicator of aggressiveness. Per Fangraphs at the time of writing, Chicago’s win Thursday put their playoff odds at 93.3%, but the chances of a first-round bye stood at 10.2%, as the Cubs sit 5 1/2 games behind the division-leading Brewers.

Hoyer has shifted out of his comfort zone to seize on an opportunity at times in recent years -- the trade for Kyle Tucker prior to last season tops the list -- and Counsell trusts that the front office will balance the current landscape with the big picture.

“Look, it’s all risk,” Counsell said. “It’s kind of a risk for the organization in terms of the future and now. His job is to assess that daily, right? That’s one of his main jobs. Players don’t like talking about the future. Fans don’t like talking about the future. But he has a responsibility for the future. I think that’s one of the hardest parts about that job.”

And by Monday, Cubs fans will know which path the front office takes.

“We want to be in this spot,” Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman said. “We want to be contending this time of year and making our team better and better. I feel like the guys in this room have done a good job with getting us to where we need to be, and hopefully we get everything we want.”