Chicago Cubs: Could Ben Brown be taking Jameson Taillon’s spot?

The Chicago Cubs appeared to have things pretty much hashed out when it came to their starting rotation. The offseason acquisition of emerging powerhouse Edward Cabrera from the Miami Marlins seemed to fill the last spot of a rotation that was already pretty packed before the trade.

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But things can change in a heartbeat in baseball– both for the better and for the worse.

Some of that “worst” is coming from Jameson Taillon. The veteran starter, who was so clutch last season for the Cubs down the stretch and through the playoffs, has been getting absolutely shellacked this spring. In Sunday’s 14-8 loss to the Dodgers, the 34-year-old gave up 10 runs on 8 hits, with 4 walks, over 3.2 innings, bringing his Cactus League ERA to a whopping 22.18. Perhaps more importantly, his velocity is down significantly, as is the movement on his pitches.

But with the bad news, there’s also some good news.

Brown’s rise paired with Taillon’s fall

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The 26-year-old Ben Brown has been looking like he’s finally turned a corner in his development.

The Cubs have always eyed the tall righty as a potential rotation piece, but, despite flashes of brilliance, his performances have been too inconsistent to really consider him in that role. That may be changing.

Coming into the third year of his young major league career, Brown has added a sinker to his repertoire and is also sporting a fortified mindset.

“I feel like I’m in a much better spot than I was last year,” Brown told the Chicago Tribune. “The resilience and the ability to pitch in different situations is something that I need to add to my repertoire and to be confident in. And that doesn’t mean I can’t stop dreaming of what my career could be like, but for right now, what can my day look like? That’s the focus…Wherever I am right now is where I have to be and be my best because I didn’t really do a good job of that last year.”

Being focused on the present and on growing as a pitcher has yielded solid results this spring. In 10.2 innings of spring training play, Brown has a 3.38 ERA and 15 strikeouts against only 3 walks.

Swapping of roles?

So, the rise of Brown and the apparent fall of Taillon have to bring up the possibility that Chicago might be forced into making a major decision soon. Could they consider a swapping of roles, with Brown taking a spot in the rotation and Taillon moving to long relief duties in the bullpen?

Taillon, set to become a free agent at the end of next season, has been an important starting pitching asset for the Cubs over the last three years, but they can’t go too long with him every fifth day if he’s just not up to the task.

The team has been clear that they hope for Brown to become the rotation stud his raw ability always suggested he could be. But will 2026 be that year where he establishes himself in that regard?

The Cubs have a deep enough starting pitching pool to absorb the loss of a guy like Taillon. If Brown’s not the man to fill the job, there’s Javier Assad, who’s done very well this spring, as well as the reliable Colin Rea. Then, of course, ace Justin Steele is moving towards his comeback, which is projected to happen in May or June. A little bit down the road, top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins will also be knocking on the door.

For now, though, the Cubs will surely give Taillon every possible chance to figure things out and get back on track. If he can’t, though, there are options.

The post Chicago Cubs: Could Ben Brown be taking Jameson Taillon’s spot? appeared first on ChiCitySports.

Source: https://www.chicitysports.com/chicago-cubs-ben-brown-jameson-taillon-starting-rotation-spring-training/