CHICAGO -- The Cubs have to make a decision soon about how to reorganize their rotation. For now, the only decision the North Siders are ready to reveal is the plan to have righty Edward Cabrera rejoin the starting corps for an outing on Sunday against the Cardinals.
Prior to Friday’s game against St. Louis at Wrigley Field, Cubs manager Craig Counsell told the media that Cabrera was set to come off the 15-day injured list for Sunday’s start. It will mark the hard-throwing righty’s first appearance for the Cubs since sustaining a left hamstring and adductor strain in a June 23 start against the Mets.
Counsell said the Cubs are planning on sticking with a five-man rotation for the time being, which means the team still needs to determine which pitcher will be pulled out of the mix for at least one turn.
“Let’s get through the weekend,” Counsell told reporters. “We want to get through Cabrera’s start, and then I think we’ll be ready to figure that out.”
The Cubs’ rotation has been impacted by injuries throughout this season, but the team’s recent maneuvering at the Trade Deadline has boosted the group’s depth. Chicago added veteran righties Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes to a cast that also includes Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga and David Peterson.
Counsell has repeated in recent weeks that he does not believe a six-man rotation is a viable long-term solution due to how it can impact a bullpen. While there might be times to work in a sixth starter for an extra day of rest for someone else, Counsell’s preference is to proceed with a five-man group.
“I think five starters is what we have to use here to protect everybody else,” Counsell said. “It just means somebody’s not going to start for at least one time through. And I don’t think we’re bound to any of this. We’re bound to certainly one time through the rotation, but we’re not bound to any of it.
“That’s why keeping guys lengthened out is on your mind a little bit here. Rest. Does someone need rest? Does that make sense? We’ve got all those things -- kind of juggling those things, too -- in the background a little bit. We’ll try to figure out the best thing to do.”
Shortly before Gausman and Holmes arrived, the Cubs also designated struggling starter Jameson Taillon for assignment before trading him to Toronto. Chicago also pulled righties Colin Rea and Javier Assad out of the rotation and moved them to the bullpen as multi-inning options. Righty Aaron Civale (primarily a starter in his career) is also in the Cubs’ relief corps right now.
With Cabrera being inserted back into the mix on Sunday, Imanaga’s scheduled turn was pushed back one day to Monday against the White Sox. The Cubs also have team off-days coming up on Thursday and Aug. 27, helping offer two more rest points for Chicago to use to its advantage.
As for Cabrera, he will be coming back to the Cubs after spinning five no-hit innings in his most recent Minor League rehab start. In a stint with Double-A Knoxville on Tuesday, the righty racked up seven strikeouts with one walk. Over his past two rehab outings, Cabrera has 15 strikeouts and one walk with only one unearned run allowed across nine innings.
Cabrera built up to 64 pitches in his most recent start, following pitch counts of 55 and 43 in his previous two outings for Triple-A Iowa. Counsell said there would be a “normal” level of caution for Cabrera’s workload in his first appearance off the IL on Sunday.
In 14 games this season for the Cubs, who acquired Cabrera in a blockbuster trade with the Marlins over the winter, the righty has logged a 5.10 ERA with 65 strikeouts and 29 walks in 72 1/3 innings. In his most recent seven turns, however, Cabrera had a 7.55 ERA amid injury setbacks, including a blister issue and then the leg setback.
After his most recent rehab start, Cabrera was confident that he was ready to return.
“I feel good. Thank God everything is going well,” Cabrera said via team translator Fredy Quevedo Jr. last weekend. “If it was up to me, I’d be ready to suit up with the team. But there’s programs that you have to follow and that you have to complete.”