NEW YORK -- The Cubs’ rotation took another hit on Wednesday, when Chicago placed right-hander Ben Brown on the 15-day injured list -- retroactive to Sunday -- because of a left neck strain, a problem he has been dealing with dating back to June 13 when he faced the Giants in San Francisco.
Brown managed to pitch Friday in Chicago's 16-2 win over the Blue Jays, throwing six innings and allowing two runs on four hits. But he had a tough time throwing a bullpen session on Tuesday at Citi Field. Brown is currently in Chicago and still being reevaluated by doctors in the area. The neck injury is nothing new to Brown. In 2024, he spent time on the IL because of a similar injury.
The ailment comes when Brown is having his best season in the Major Leagues. Brown appeared in 20 games (eight starts) and is 4-2 with a 1.85 ERA. He is also third on the team in bWAR (2.1).
“We’ll get more information and we’ll get second opinions and things like that,” said Jed Hoyer, who is president of baseball operations for the Cubs. “Then we’ll have a real plan of attack, but it’s going to be a somewhat lengthy process of rest. You can’t do much. You have to rest it, and we have to figure out how long that rest period is. I really feel bad for him. He was having an All-Star-type season. He was pitching great for us. It’s unfortunate.”
The news about Brown comes on the same day the Cubs put right-hander Edward Cabrera on the injured list after he strained both his left hamstring and left adductor. The Cubs already have Jameson Taillon (left hamstring strain), Cade Horton (right UCL surgery) and Justin Steele (left elbow flexor strain) on the IL. In a bit of good news, left-hander Matthew Boyd came off the IL and started in Thursday’s series finale against the Mets.