Battered Chicago Cubs pitching may force call-up of last man standing

The Chicago Cubs keep taking hits, even though they’re not currently getting hits at the plate. Most of those hits have come against their pitching staff.

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The latest blow to Cubs pitching was suffered Wednesday when Edward Cabrera was taken out of his start at the very beginning of the fourth inning with a blister issue.

The Cubs have been noncommittal when it comes to placing the hard-throwing righty on the IL and Cabrera has basically said that he’s not expecting any lost time. But the team has also hinted that the blister issue may be something Cabrera has been dealing with for a bit. So, as painful as it may be to but him on the shelf—along with Cade Horton, Matthew Boyd, and Justin Steele—a stint on the IL might be the most prudent choice right now, at least for a short ten-day period.

Cubs pitching reserves are depleted

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The problem is that the Cubs have torn through their emergency stockpile of arms at the Triple-A level due to all of the injuries and the recently demoted Javier Assad may need more time to stretch out before being brought back as a full-time starter.

So, actually, Jordan Wicks may be the last man standing when it comes to Cubs pitching reserves.

The bad news is that Wicks started the year injured and struggled his way through rehab outings. The good news is that he’s suddenly become lights-out in Iowa.

Jordan Wicks has turned things around

In his last two starts, he’s allowed just one earned run in 11 innings pitched. This past Thursday, he threw an especially brilliant gem in shutting out the Memphis Redbirds over 5 innings with just one hit allowed.

“I think he’s really talented,” Hoyer said in a recent interview with 104.3 The Score in Chicago, when asked about Wicks. “Yeah, he’s had some ups and downs and some injuries. Obviously, he had the injury in spring training, so he wasn’t really a part of spring training at all for us. And he had some struggles in his early rehab, but threw well in his last time out. He needs to help us. He’s a talented pitcher.”

The 26-year-old 2021 first round draft pick has shown flashes of excellence throughout his young career, even in his three cups of coffee in the majors. He hasn’t, however, been able to deliver consistently over the long haul.

The truth is that even if Cabrera doesn’t miss any starts with his blister, the Cubs may soon have to call Wicks into major league duty. With more than two months to go before the trade deadline, there’s nobody else they can count on as rotation reinforcement.

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Source: https://www.chicitysports.com/chicago-cubs-jordan-wicks-edward-cabrera-pitching/