Cubs' rotation looks braced for October push

This story was excerpted from Jordan Bastian's Cubs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CHICAGO -- There is still a long road to the postseason, and the Cubs plan on using the remaining weeks in the regular season to determine their best path forward with the starting rotation. After seeing the staff stripped thin by injuries earlier this summer, Chicago has solid depth at this specific moment in time.

With hard-throwing righty Edward Cabrera back from the 15-day injured list -- he looked rusty in his first start back on Sunday against the Cardinals -- Cubs manager Craig Counsell had some decisions to make with the staff. First and foremost, Counsell felt sticking with a five-man rotation was the best approach to maintain a deeper bullpen right now.

“I don’t think we’re bound to any of this,” Counsell said. “We’re bound to certainly one time through the rotation, but we’re not bound to any of it.”

The five-man staff right now includes Cabrera, lefty Shota Imanaga, righty Kevin Gausman, righty Clay Holmes and lefty Matthew Boyd. When Gausman and Holmes were acquired ahead of the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline, starters Colin Rea and Javier Assad were moved to the bullpen as multi-inning options.

With Cabrera back, Counsell moved lefty David Peterson to relief as a length piece as well, joining Rea and righty Aaron Civale as arms capable of covering multiple innings. As for Assad, he was optioned to Triple-A Iowa, where he will stay stretched out. At Iowa, the Cubs also have lefty Braxton Garrett, who was picked up from the Marlins at the Deadline, too.

Cabrera lasted 3 2/3 innings in Sunday’s 11-4 loss and revealed after the game that he was dealing with a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand. He expressed optimism that he could take his next scheduled turn in the rotation, but it is worth noting that he landed on the IL in late May due to a similar setback.

Asked if Cabrera would make his next start as planned, Counsell replied: “We’re going to have to talk about that.”

Two pitchers who are on the IL with starting in their backgrounds are righty Ben Brown and lefty Justin Steele. They have both advanced to throwing off a mound, but they are not expected to be rotation reinforcements down the stretch.

Brown thrived as a high-leverage, multi-inning reliever earlier in the season, and that could be an option once again for him in September and possibly in the playoffs. As for Steele, given that he has missed the bulk of two seasons after left elbow surgery, Chicago’s focus is to get him into game action before the end of the year. That means a Minor League rehab assignment, with any appearances for the Cubs viewed at this point as a potential bonus.

When October rolls around, the Cubs again will have some things to consider.

Without a true No. 1 starter in the rotation, Counsell and his staff can really weigh opponent matchups in playoff series and make starter decisions with that in mind. And with three lefties (Boyd, Imanaga and Peterson) and three righties (Gausman, Holmes and Cabrera), Chicago can also consider who could be ready behind a starter as a multi-inning reliever in a postseason setting.

“We have so much talent,” Boyd said. “And as Craig says with the bullpen, our job is just to get outs. It’s the same way with the rotation. Obviously, when we get to where we want to go in October, that’s the main goal, is just to get 27 outs. It doesn’t matter how we get them. We’ve got guys that can do it. Our rotation kind of looks at that the same way. We’re excited to do what’s necessary.”