Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon hasn’t yet appeared in an official Spring Training contest this year and manager Craig Counsell admitted that the righty may not have enough time to get ready for Opening Day. The skipper tells Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune that Jameson is trending towards beginning the season on the injured list.
Jameson was initially slowed at the start of this month with some soreness in his calves but then that was followed by some lower back tightness. With Opening Day now just over two weeks away, he’s running out of time to get himself into game shape.
When a player is placed on the injured list at the start of a season, the transaction can be backdated by three days. The Cubs also have two off days in the first couple of weeks of the schedule and those two facts could limit Jameson to only missing the first 10 games of the schedule.
But that would be contingent on him returning to health and getting back on track so that he can build up between now and then. The righty has generally been fairly durable apart from the Tommy John surgery that wiped out most of his 2019 and all of his 2020. He made 25 starts in 2017 and 32 in 2018 prior to the surgery, more recently making at least 29 starts in the three most recent campaigns.
Last year, he missed a couple of weeks due to a groin strain but otherwise was on the mound, logging 154 1/3 innings. The problem was that his earned run average jumped to 4.84, almost a full run better than his 3.91 from the year before. His 21.4% strikeout rate was actually a bit better than in 2022 but most other metrics moved in the wrong direction. His walk rate, ground ball rate, barrel rate and hard hit rate were a few ticks worse than the prior campaign.
Taillon signed a four-year, $68MM deal prior to last year and is still a key piece of the club’s rotation. He’ll be looking for a bounceback here in 2024 but will have to do so after a less than ideal start with the injury setbacks.
In the meantime, the Cubs have three rotation spots set for Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga and Kyle Hendricks. There was going to be a competition for a fifth spot behind those three and Taillon, but it appears there will now be two spots up for grabs for Jordan Wicks, Drew Smyly, Hayden Wesneski or Javier Assad, at least to start the year. That group would have also included Caleb Kilian but he’s been shut down with a teres major strain.
Wicks is one of the club’s best prospects and he debuted with seven starts last year. Neither his 4.41 ERA nor his 16.3% strikeout rate were especially impressive but he punched out 26.5% of hitters in the minors last year and could be set for a step forward in 2024.
Smyly is a veteran with over a decade in the big leagues but he’s coming off a rough season, as he got bumped to the bullpen and finished the year with an ERA of 5.00. Wesneski was also bumped to the bullpen, and often optioned to Triple-A, finishing last year with a 4.63 ERA. Assad was also in a swing role and had a solid 3.05 ERA on the year, though he may have been lucky to wind up there. His .268 batting average on balls in play and 83.3% strand rate were both on the fortunate side of average, which is why his 4.29 FIP and 4.41 SIERA were a bit less exciting.
Of those four, Wicks is the only one with a Spring Training ERA lower than 6.14 right now, for what that’s worth. Smyly can’t be optioned and the Cubs still owe him $11MM, as he’s making a salary of $8.5MM this year and has a $2.5MM buyout on a 2025 mutual option. That makes him likely to have a roster spot, whether he’s in the rotation or working as a long reliever in the bullpen.
Free agency still features a number of interesting names even though the regular season is getting near, though the Cubs may not have much interest in spending more money on the roster. At this point, there’s nothing to suggest Taillon is slated for a lengthy absence, just that he’s behind schedule by a few weeks right now. The Cubs are also hovering on the competitive balance tax line, with RosterResource calculating their CBT number as just $55K over the $237MM threshold.
They probably don’t want to add to that in order to address what is likely a temporary situation with Taillon. But as Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, Michael Lorenzen and others linger in free agency into the middle of March, each pitching injury will lead to speculation about how it affects the markets for those guys. Lucas Giolito, Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander, Sonny Gray and many other notable pitchers around the league are dealing with spring injuries of varying degrees.
Assuming the Cubs stay in house, they will likely need innings this year from each of Wicks, Smyly, Wesneski and Assad. Each club battles injuries over a long season and the Cubs are also reportedly planning to manage Imanaga’s workload as he transitions from the weekly pitching rotation of Japanese baseball to the five-day turns in North American ball.
I wonder if starting training camp then 1 week later having players play games is the cause for so many injuries.
I personally think it’s completely asinine. There should be 2-3 weeks build up before playing any preseason baseball
It wouldn’t matter with Taillon. He’d be hurt either way.
Jimmy spent it all in 22, he’s got nothin left. Ahahaha!
I’m shocked.
This news has me gulping down my bottle of Jameson.
Don’t mean to be a Buzzkill but drinking that much is bad for you
Would depend on the size of the bottle
Living for too long is also hazardous to your health.
Buzz is gonna get his buzz on.
And stomach pumped.
Wicks numbers were skewed by 1 bad game, he’s in the rotation. Assad gets the temp spot, we can’t have 4 lefties in the rotation
Jameson Taillon vs Taijuan Walker. I’m very curious which contract will age better. So far neither is looking great, but I’ll always compare these two.
So far it’s pretty even. After 2024 it’ll be interesting to check on them. But I hope they both do well this year.
Mediocre pitchers surely do get paid well, don’t they?
Pitching is always in high demand that if you put up even a few seasons with an ERA in the 4.5 range, you’ll get a nice bag from someone.
Appears to me the team that will win the NL Central is the one who gets bitten the least by the injury bug. Every team is lacking in SP talent and depth.
@Kliesen. As compared to the SP depth of WHICH other Divisions??? Please let me know which ones have true depth.
The Mariners. Their five starters could be reasonable #1’s or #2’s on other clubs.
NL East has a ton more top end talent and depth than NL Central.
But you can really say that about all the divisions. Injuries are always such a determining factor in who wins divisions and wild cards.
It’s always something with Taillon. Some guys just don’t want to play.
I was thinking the same thing: groin strain, back tightness, calf soreness. Tell me as a ballplayer making millions why you can’t come to camp in shape. It’s the least you could do, man. Man if I was his teammate, I would be let down.
He’s such a bum, and a well-paid one at that.
Losing Taillon does not even matter and it is better to let the younger pitchers pitch.
Gotta love the mid tier pitching market…
Thought to ponder? Why are NBA and NFL athletes usually fully healthy and ready to go to work before pre season ? It’s amazing how many MLB players aren’t physically ready to even begin practice
I’m embarrassed as a fan of MLB actually. It’s the least these guys can do, is come into camp in good physical condition. If I was his pitching coach or Counsell this guy would be in my doghouse.
@wvsteve
pitchers are already a delicate item
throw year round and you’d have teams running 50 pitchers through 162 games
His calves are sore
And why do talented people like Cade Horton have to be left off the team for more “seasoning?” Another reason baseball is less popular than those two sports, keeping good players in the minors.
This shouldn’t have to be explained to you.
Steele
Shots
Kyle
Assad
Wicks
You want to hear something crazy?!
That might be the best rotation in NL Central. I like Freddy Peralta and Sonny Gray. Open-minded about Keller and Greene. But yes, by default, Cubs still have the best NL Central opening day starting rotation
The depth is helping the Cubs weather an IL stint for Taillon. Smyly as a swing man doesn’t hurt either.
Trevor will ensure he gives it to you roughly tonight since you’re simping for him.
The Former_Player = garbage troll running multiple accounts
Is this poster larping as Bauer?
Soreness in calves? Lol! What a weenie
You guys that defend him really have a weird obsession. He stays in your mouths as if you were the ones he was choking and beating on
The fact is there were no scouts watching him the other day, and no front office personnel. MLB teams aren’t interested in him. Apparently only incels are.
If Trevor Bauer defenders don’t understand why he hasn’t been signed by another MLB team by now, then any explanation that points to the truth probably still won’t help them.
What I will say (based on many personal profiles written about Bauer over the years) is this: his level of arrogance as a human being is practically beyond the scope of human imagination.
There isn’t a single MLB team that would benefit from having Bauer’s historically poisonous energy in the clubhouse. In fact, his ongoing obsession with himself would likely erase any potential gains that might be obtained from whatever amount of pitching talent he “may” have remaining. It’s just not worth it.
There are a few Cub fans out there who believe that Bauer should still be given a chance. Trevor Bauer? On THIS Cubs team?
As a Cub fan, the thought absolutely repulses me.
The posters that whine about MLB pride events are the same ones swinging from Bauer’s sack. They full on throat this guy tasting the rainbow, while crying and sh!tting themselves when a flag appears.
“I don’t want them shoving it down our throats! Unless it’s Trevor!”
I’m not advocating for him, but no charges were filed and they had mutual lawsuits which were dropped
Cade Horton’s ready and would become at least their third-best starter right now. But baseball teams love to keep these guys down in the minors forever.
Cade is ready talent-wise but a few more months in the minors- I will trust the professionals to figure what serves him and them best
Wait for it…wow.
Doubtful that the Cubs have the pitching depth they will need, especially with this Taillon injury. Stroman gone, Smyly moved to pen, and Taillon injured. Lots of SP innings to be made up- mostly by inexperienced pitchers. Imanaga has 0 ML IP, Wicks has 34.2 Ip, Wesneski 122 and Assad 147. Not saying they can’t be effective, but there is some definite transitioning to be done. This causes a heavier reliance on the relief corp and the Cubs are not overstaffed at all in their bullpen.
The Cubs have a ton of pitching depth. Depth is exactly what it is, depth, Wicks, Assad, Wesneski, Smyky, Brown, Horton is a lot of depth.
And the relief corp? Even if Wicks and Assad are in the rotation they still have Smyly and Wesneski in for long relief and a ton of arms. The only issue is the Cubs don’t have a lot of guys with minor league options in the pen.
Come on James! We just need you to be a #4 pitcher. Eat some innings and try to win as many games as you lose. Wicks will have the job and I hope Assad gets an opportunity.