Cubs Designate Drew Pomeranz For Assignment
The Cubs announced that right-hander Jameson Taillon has been reinstated from the 15-day injured list. The club also activated righty Aaron Civale, who was recently acquired from the Athletics. In corresponding moves, they have placed righty Phil Maton on the 15-day injured list due to right knee tendinitis and designated left-hander Drew Pomeranz for assignment.
Pomeranz was added to the roster earlier this month. The Cubs were able to scoop him up on a minor league deal after the Angels had released him. Since joining the Cubs, the lefty has made six appearances but allowed five earned runs in 5 2/3 innings while issuing four walks and only striking out one opponent.
It was with the Cubs that Pomeranz had a huge bounceback season last year. He missed three entire seasons, from 2022 to 2024, due to various injuries related to his throwing arm. He got back to the big leagues with the Cubs last year and fired off 49 2/3 innings with a 2.17 earned run average, 28.1% strikeout rate and 7.4% walk rate. He parlayed that into a $4MM deal with the Halos but hasn’t been able to keep it going. Between the Angels and Cubs, he now has a 5.59 ERA, 12.6% strikeout rate and 11.9% walk rate over 29 innings this year.
Given the poor results, Pomeranz will almost certainly be a free agent again in a few days. He won’t garner much interest on the waiver wire. He has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment. The Cubs might skip that formality and release him. He could probably find another minor league offer at that point based on his track record. He was one of the best relievers in baseball for parts of the 2019 to 2021 window. He has mostly been hurt since then but looked good as recently as last year.
If he ends up on another roster at some point, he would be cheap. The Angels are on the hook for the remainder of his salary since they released him. Another club could sign him and only pay him the prorated league minimum for whatever time he spends on the roster, as the Cubs just did.
The return of Taillon, who missed over a month with a hamstring strain, will hopefully help to stabilize a rotation that has been severely impacted by injuries this year. Cade Horton is out for the year due to Tommy John surgery. Justin Steele is trying to return from his own UCL surgery but has hit some setbacks. If he does make it back this year, it will be as a reliever. Ben Brown and Edward Cabrera are also currently on the IL.
The Cubs have recently been giving the ball to Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga and Colin Rea. They acquired David Peterson from the Mets late last month and plugged him into the mix. The Civale deal gave them an extra arm as well. That group will hold things down for now. The Cubs will surely look to make additional moves ahead of the August 3 deadline. Despite all the injuries, the Cubs are 56-43, holding a Wild Card spot and in position to buy in the next two weeks.
The Maton injury has apparently been ongoing all year. This is his third IL stint of the season due to that same knee issue. Even when he has been on the field, he hasn’t been effective. He has a 6.18 ERA over 31 appearances. That’s a far cry from the 2.79 ERA he posted with the Cardinals and Rangers last year. That performance was why the Cubs gave him a two-year deal worth $14.5MM.
Maton’s injuries have been part of a larger team-wide issue, much like in the rotation. Hunter Harvey, Porter Hodge, Riley Martin, Shelby Miller, Hoby Milner, Daniel Palencia and Ethan Roberts are all on the IL and now Maton is once again joining them. In addition to their rotation pursuits, the Cubs should be on the lookout for relief arms in the coming weeks.
Photo courtesy of Matt Marton, Imagn Images
Cubs Place Phil Maton On 15-Day Injured List
The Cubs placed Phil Maton on the 15-day injured list on Friday, as the right-hander is dealing with right knee tendinitis. David Peterson (acquired from the Mets earlier this week) was officially activated in the corresponding move, and the southpaw will make his Cubs debut as the starting pitcher in today’s game with the Brewers.
Maton missed just under three weeks in April with the same injury, and Cubs manager Craig Counsell told the Chicago Sun-Times’ Vinnie Duber and other reporters that “we also feel like we’re taking some steps back with the health. If we can maybe use this time — and possibly the All-Star break — to get his health as good as we can get him for the second half, that’s important. Because we need a good version of Phil Maton.”
The recurring knee issue has very likely contributed to Maton’s shaky season. Maton signed a two-year, $14.5MM free agent deal last November, but has thus far contributed a 6.08 ERA over 26 2/3 innings in a Cubs uniform. Maton’s 3.90 SIERA is significantly better, as the veteran reliever has been unlucky in the form of a .365 BABIP. That said, Maton’s 11.5% walk rate is the worst of his 10 Major League seasons, and his 23.8% strikeout rate is far below the 32.7K% he posted with the Cardinals and Rangers in 2025.
Maton is now the 11th pitcher on Chicago’s IL, as the Cubs’ entire staff continues to be ravaged by the injury bug. The Peterson trade was made to try and help a rotation that is down five starters, and president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has stated that adding pitching is the natural focus as the deadline approaches. Of course, that assumes the Cubs can remain in contention in the wake of all these injuries. Chicago is still 44-38, but a scorching 27-12 start has now given way to a 17-26 record in the team’s last 43 games.
Some internal rotation help could be coming sooner than expected, since Counsell said Jameson Taillon may be able to return for one abbreviated start before the All-Star break. Taillon hasn’t pitched since June 7 due to a hamstring injury that was expected to sideline the righty until the second half, but Taillon has improved to the point that his timeline may be slightly shorter.
Cubs Place Jameson Taillon On Injured List
The Cubs placed starter Jameson Taillon on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to June 8, with a left hamstring strain. Chicago brought up two relievers, Tyler Ferguson and Ethan Roberts, from Triple-A Iowa. Trent Thornton goes on the paternity list in the other pitching move. The Cubs also activated Matt Shaw from the 10-day injured list and optioned outfielder Kevin Alcántara back to Iowa.
Chicago also added lefty reliever Antoine Kelly to the 40-man roster, according to the MLB.com transaction log. Kelly was optioned to Triple-A. The Cubs acquired him in a cash trade with the Dodgers over the weekend. That suggests the Chicago native triggered an upward mobility clause in his minor league deal with Los Angeles. Kelly has still yet to reach the Majors.
Taillon has a moderate hamstring strain, skipper Craig Counsell told reporters (including Meghan Montemurro of The Chicago Tribune). The Cubs expect him to miss more than a month and be sidelined beyond the All-Star Break. Taillon has had a middling first couple months, allowing a 5.19 earned run average through 67 2/3 innings.
The Cubs will turn to Colin Rea, Shota Imanaga and Edward Cabrera for this series at Coors Field. They haven’t listed any plans for their weekend set in San Francisco. Matthew Boyd went five innings and 80 pitches on a rehab start for Iowa on Saturday. He’s expected to make his return from meniscus surgery at some point this weekend. Boyd and Ben Brown should take the first two games of the Giants series in some order, which would put Rea back on regular rest for the finale.
Brown is the only Cubs starter who has gotten strong results this year. He only moved into the starting staff when Boyd went down in early May. Brown has responded with a 1.44 ERA and 29% strikeout rate over six starts. He has also continued throwing strikes while turning a lineup over multiple times. Cabrera, Imanaga and Rea have all been far too home run prone. No team’s rotation has given up more longballs than Chicago’s 32.
It’s too early for the Cubs to do much on the trade front. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer acknowledged last week that’ll likely be the focus when the deadline gets closer. They’re not likely to push Cabrera, Imanaga or Boyd out of the rotation anytime soon, but they could certainly move Rea back into a swing role. Jordan Wicks and Doug Nikhazy are the only depth starters on the 40-man roster; they’ve both gotten rocked in Triple-A.
Jameson Taillon Leaves Game Due To Hamstring Strain
Jameson Taillon‘s start tonight was cut short in the second inning, as the right-hander was removed due to what the Cubs later revealed as a left hamstring strain. Taillon allowed a run on a walk and two hits in his first inning against the Giants, but after walking Matt Chapman to lead off the second inning, Taillon requested a visit from the team trainer and then left the mound.
More will be known about Taillon’s status when manager Craig Counsell meets with the media postgame, but it isn’t a good sign that Taillon’s injury has already been termed as a strain. A trip to the 15-day injured list might be inevitable, though a lower-grade strain might see Taillon return in a fairly minimal amount of time.
Taillon has a 5.19 ERA over 67 2/3 innings, and a league-leading 20 home runs is the root cause of his struggles. While Taillon has never been great at keeping the ball in the park, this season’s spike in homer rate is eye-opening. Taillon’s hard-hit ball rate is actually around league average, yet his dismal 14.5% barrel rate indicates that opposing batters are maximizing the damage when squaring up against the righty’s offerings.
As much as the results haven’t been there for the 34-year-old, he has at least been able to take the ball for 13 starts, providing the Cubs with some innings in an injury-ravaged year for the team’s pitching staff. Now it seems like Taillon may be the latest Wrigleyville hurler bit by the injury bug, just after Edward Cabrera was activated from the 15-day IL on Friday and Matthew Boyd may be just days away from returning from left meniscus surgery.
Cade Horton was also lost to a Tommy John surgery and Justin Steele‘s return from a TJ surgery has been delayed until some time in the second half of the season. Despite all these rotation ailments, the bullpen has perhaps been hit even harder by a variety of major and minor injuries, leaving the Cubs scrambling for arms basically since Opening Day. The Cubs overcame their lack of healthy and effective pitching to go 27-12 in their first 39 games, but they’ve since lost 19 of their last 26 games heading into tonight’s matchup with San Francisco.
Monday’s off-day provides some chance for a rotation reset, and perhaps a chance for Taillon to undergo further evaluation on his hamstring strain. Chicago’s rotation currently consists of Shota Imanaga, Colin Rea, Ben Brown, Cabrera, and possibly Boyd taking Taillon’s place if Boyd doesn’t require a third rehab start. Javier Assad could be a candidate to be a stretched out for rotation work as well, should Boyd need more ramp-up time.
Cubs To Move Javier Assad To Bullpen
The Cubs are going to welcome right-hander Jameson Taillon back from the injured list today, which will bump fellow righty Javier Assad to the bullpen, per Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic. Sharma also lists Michael Soroka as someone who could help the bullpen down the stretch, suggesting he’ll likely end up in a relief role when he comes off the injured list.
Assad, 28, was a solid member of the Chicago rotation last year. He made 29 starts, allowing 3.73 earned runs per nine innings. His 19.4% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate were a bit worse than league average but he had a decent 43.6% ground ball rate. He may have benefitted from a high strand rate of 80.3% but his 4.64 FIP and 4.72 SIERA still pointed to him being capable of passable work as a big league starter.
But this year has been challenging. Oblique issues kept him on the injured list until August. He has since made five starts with a 4.62 ERA. His walk rate and grounder rate have improved in that small sample but he has only struck out 13.2% of opponents.
It’s not a drastic drop-off overall but the Cubs don’t feel Assad is one of their five best rotation options. When Taillon returns, he will slot in alongside Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga, Cade Horton and Colin Rea. Boyd and Horton are both having really strong seasons. Imanaga isn’t pitching as well as last year but has still managed to post a 3.21 ERA. Rea and Taillon are solid back-end options with ERAs of 4.20 and 4.15 respectively.
Assad will therefore end up in the bullpen, likely in long relief. The Cubs already have guys like Aaron Civale and Ben Brown capable of soaking up multiple innings from the bullpen but Assad will give them one more.
As for Soroka, his potential bullpen move is logical and should be more impactful. He had a lot of success in a relief role last year. He started 2024 in the White Sox’ rotation but ended up getting bumped to the bullpen. He finished out the year with 36 relief innings with a 2.75 ERA and 39% strikeout rate. His 13% walk rate was certainly high but that kind of strikeout stuff made him an intriguing leverage relief option this winter.
He came into 2025 still with the hope of being a starter. He signed a one-year, $9MM deal with the Nationals and joined that club’s rotation. He had a decent 4.87 ERA, 25.4% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate with Washington, though notable splits later in games. This year, he has held opponents to a .193/.250/.329 line when going through the order for the first time. That line jumps to .218/.302/.395 the second time through and then there’s a big spike to .319/.467/.574 for the first time through.
The Cubs acquired him at the deadline even though his velocity had been trending down throughout July. They nonetheless hoped to get a few starts out of him. But he made just one, lasting two innings, before a shoulder strain put him on the shelf. In his recent bullpen sessions, his velo has been back up to the mid-90s. He’s set to go on a rehab assignment this week and could rejoin the big league club soon.
Given last year’s bullpen success, his third-time-through-the-order penalty and recent health concern, a bullpen move makes lot of sense. If he can posts some results similar to last year’s, he could jump into a leverage role. That would help the Cubs going into the stretch run, as they recently lost Daniel Palencia and Ryan Brasier to the IL due to a shoulder strain and groin strain respectively.
Photo courtesy of Christopher Hanewinckel, Imagn Images
Cubs To Place Jameson Taillon On Injured List
The Cubs are placing Jameson Taillon back on the 15-day injured list, manager Craig Counsell tells reporters (including Maddie Lee of The Chicago Sun-Times). Taillon departed his most recent start with left groin tightness. Javier Assad will be recalled from Triple-A Iowa to take his spot on the active roster.
Taillon just returned from a nearly two-month absence due to a right calf strain. This isn’t expected to be anywhere near as serious. Counsell said the Cubs believe it’ll be close to a minimal stint. They can backdate the placement to August 25, meaning he’ll be eligible to return on September 9. He’ll miss at least two turns through the rotation but should be back in plenty of time to vie for a spot on Chicago’s postseason roster.
The veteran righty has made 19 starts. Taillon carries a 4.15 ERA with a below-average 18.8% strikeout rate. He’s throwing plenty of strikes but has allowed home runs at a career-worst clip. This is is the fourth straight season in which Taillon has struggled to miss bats, and his velocity has trended down over the course of his four-year free agent deal.
Taillon looks like a fifth starter at this stage of his career. The Cubs will head into October with questions about their pitching depth. Cade Horton, Shota Imanaga and Matthew Boyd project as their top three arms for the playoff rotation as long as the Cubs don’t collapse in September. Assuming Michael Soroka will be limited to relief work if he’s able to make it back from a shoulder strain, Taillon and Colin Rea are the top options for a potential Game 4 postseason start.
Assad has lost most of the season to an oblique strain. He’s made three MLB starts since returning, allowing six runs across 14 innings. The Cubs have optioned him twice but recalled him shortly after on both occasions. Pitchers typically must spend 15 days on an optional assignment, but an exception is made if they’re replacing someone who goes on the injured list.
The Cubs have Horton and Imanaga to start the next two games. Assad will take the ball on Saturday at Coors Field. He’ll step into Taillon’s rotation spot for the time being. He’s a long shot to get much consideration for Chicago’s playoff roster — either in the rotation or long relief — but he should get at least two starts to try to make his case.
Cubs Place Jameson Taillon On 15-Day IL With Calf Strain
The Cubs are placing starting pitcher Jameson Taillon on the 15-day injured list with a strained right calf. The team revealed the news to reporters (including Patrick Mooney of The Athletic) this morning and confirmed the transaction shortly thereafter. Jordan Wicks is coming up from the Triple-A Iowa Cubs to take Taillon’s spot on the active roster. However, manager Craig Counsell said that Chris Flexen, not Wicks, is the most likely candidate to temporarily join the rotation (per Bruce Levine of 670 The Score). Flexen has been working as a long reliever this season, but he made 30 starts for the White Sox just last year.
Taillon, 33, suffered the injury while running in a training session and is expected to miss more than a month (per Vinnie Duber of the Chicago Sun-Times). While he hasn’t been as effective for Chicago as he was last year, there is no doubt the Cubs will miss his reliable presence on the mound every five days. His 95 1/3 innings rank 20th among NL starting pitchers, while his 4.44 ERA (85 ERA+) and 4.24 xERA (32nd percentile) suggest he has been more than serviceable as an inning-eating back-end starter. He hasn’t looked his best recently, with a 10.66 ERA over 12 2/3 innings in his last three starts, so if there is any silver lining to this injury, it is that he will have some time to rest and reset. The Cubs will hope he returns looking more like the guy who pitched to a 3.48 ERA over his first 14 starts.
Wicks, the Cubs’ first-round pick in 2021, has never quite looked comfortable at the MLB level, with a career 5.23 ERA and 4.68 SIERA over 82 2/3 innings from 2023-25. With that said, he has looked sharp over his last handful of outings at Triple-A (16 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 20 K, 3 BB). The 25-year-old will presumably take over Flexen’s low-leverage long-relief gig. Flexen, meanwhile, shouldn’t have too much trouble transitioning back to the rotation. He started five games at Triple-A in April before he was called up to the big league club, pitching to a 3-0 record with a 1.16 ERA and 2.89 FIP. While he has not started in the majors since 2024, he tossed four scoreless innings of relief against the Astros last week, so stretching out shouldn’t be too difficult. Although Flexen was not very effective as a starter in either of the last two seasons, he has more than earned another opportunity with his excellent performance so far in 2025. In 29 innings spread out over 16 appearances, he has given up just two earned runs on 16 hits.
The Cubs have been without Javier Assad (oblique injury) all season, and Justin Steele required season-ending elbow surgery after just four starts. Shota Imanaga also missed significant time earlier this year, but the Cubs were grateful to see him back on the mound last week. Imanaga and the surprisingly dominant Matthew Boyd give Chicago a strong one-two punch atop the rotation, but the back end could be a weak spot until Taillon returns.
Cubs Planning To Add Starting Pitcher In Offseason
The Cubs are planning to add an established starting pitcher to their rotation this winter, reports Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. The club has Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad in four spots. Per Mooney’s report, adding one more name into that mix would push guys like Ben Brown, Cade Horton, Jordan Wicks and Hayden Wesneski down the depth chart.
“In one sense, you feel like you’re in a solid position because we have a number of young pitchers (who) have had success in the big leagues,” Manager Craig Counsell is quoted as saying in the piece. “Now with all of them, there’s been injuries. And it’s not a big sample as of yet. But that’s also kind of the nature of pitching. It’s the nature of young pitching. So we’re in a good spot in terms of that area of depth. But as we saw this year, it disappeared quickly.”
The quartet of Imanaga, Steele, Taillon and Assad have been the club’s best starters this year, both in terms of quality and quantity. Each of that group has an ERA of 3.41 or lower at the moment and all of them have tossed between 130 and 175 innings on the season thus far.
But as Counsell alluded to, there were also some challenges. Steele made a couple of trips to the injured list, one for a left hamstring strain and another for left elbow tendinitis. The Cubs had picked up a $16.5MM club option to bring back Kyle Hendricks but that ultimately proved to be a misstep. Hendricks struggled badly enough to get moved to the bullpen. He eventually retook a rotation spot but has a 6.28 ERA for the year overall. Wicks is currently on the IL for the third time this year, having gone on the shelf for a left forearm strain and then two separate stints for right oblique strains. Brown hasn’t pitched since June due to a stress reaction in his neck. Horton last pitched in May, getting shut down with a subscapularis strain and suffering a setback while trying to return the mound.
An argument could be made for rolling into 2025 with the same front four, letting the group of Wicks, Brown, Horton and Wesneski fight for the fifth spot. But with so many issues in 2024, adding some more security makes plenty of sense. None of those four are fully established. Wesneski is the only one with more than 81 big league innings pitched, and his 186 frames have been split between the bullpen and rotation. Wicks, Brown and Wesneski all still have options, meaning they could be stretched out in Triple-A if not needed on the big league staff. Horton isn’t yet on the 40-man and doesn’t need to be protected from the Rule 5 draft until December of 2025.
The Cubs also might not have much else on their winter to-do list. Even if Cody Bellinger eventually opts out, the outfield will still have Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki and Mike Tauchman, with Alexander Canario, Owen Caissie, Kevin Alcántara and Brennen Davis at Triple-A. The infield has Isaac Paredes, Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner and Michael Busch, with Matt Shaw knocking on the door. Miguel Amaya has shown some progress at the plate and Christian Bethancourt can be retained for next year if the Cubs believe in his recent performance. Moises Ballesteros will also be pushing for a job soon.
The bullpen arguably should be a focus but president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer had made it clear he would prefer to not to make free agent splashes there. As shown on MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, since Hoyer was hired in November of 2020, the club hasn’t given a multi-year deal to any reliever. And of the one-year deals they have given out, the only guy to get more than $5MM was Héctor Neris, who got $9MM.
Unless a change is coming in terms of the approach to bullpen construction, starting pitching is a logical target with the position player group in strong shape. And there should be some powder dry for reinforcements. The club went narrowly over the $237MM competitive balance tax this year, with RosterResource currently pegging their number a bit over $238MM. Next year’s tally is only at $126MM right now. Arbitration raises for guys like Paredes and Steele will certainly add to that number and it will grow significantly if Bellinger decides to stay, but there will still be room for a notable contract.
Hoyer hasn’t played at the top of the market in terms of starting pitching but has given out some mid-market deals. As shown in the MLBTR Contract Tracker again, Imanaga, Taillon and Marcus Stroman have each received guaranteed between $53MM and $71MM, the largest guarantees the Cubs have given to starting pitchers in the Hoyer era.
This winter’s starting pitching class will be topped by guys like Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, Jack Flaherty and Blake Snell, assuming Snell stays healthy and opts out of his deal. Signing any of those guys would likely require the Cubs to go to a new level of spending, getting into nine-figure territory. If they want to stay in that Stroman/Taillon/Imanaga tier, they’d probably be debating names like Luis Severino, Sean Manaea, Nick Pivetta and others. Hall-of-Fame-bound veterans Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander will be limited to short-term deals since they are both in their 40s and coming off injury-plagued years in 2024.
The trade market will be another option for the Cubs. The White Sox didn’t end up flipping Garrett Crochet at the deadline but could perhaps make him available again in the winter. The Marlins lost almost all their rotation options to injury this year but it’s possible to see them considering deals as the group gets healthier for 2025. Somewhat similarly, the Rays seem to have an abundance of rotation options with Jeffrey Springs, Shane Baz and Drew Rasmussen returned from long absences, with Shane McClanahan to join them next year. Other possibilities will surely emerge as the winter goes on.
It will be an interesting offseason for the Cubs. Their signing of Swanson heading into 2023 seemed to signal a wish to return to contention after a couple of rebuilding years. They had a solid but unspectacular year in 2023, winning 83 games. They may top that here in 2024, currently at 80-76, but will miss the postseason again. Pressure figures to be high for a club that hasn’t made the postseason in a full campaign since 2018, but a lot of good elements are in place and a few finishing touches could perhaps get them over the hump in 2025.
Cubs Have Not Approached Jameson Taillon About Potential Deals
When the Cubs signed righty Jameson Taillon to a four-year, $68MM deal in December 2022, that contract included a 10-team no-trade clause. According to Taillon last night (link via Patrick Mooney of The Athletic), “I haven’t had to say yes or no to anything.”
Taillon, who professed his love for Chicago, coughed up six runs in four and a third innings to the Reds in Cincinnati last night. He’ll turn 33 in November. Taillon’s average fastball velocity is down a full tick this year, with his strikeout rate falling to 19.1%. Though his ERA was 4.84 last year and currently sits at 3.35, there hasn’t been a skill change in these 18 starts.
Given that Taillon is owed $18MM in each of the 2025 and ’26 seasons, it’s possible the Cubs could look to get out of that commitment. In the best case scenario, they could also extract some useful players from a market that saw the Astros provide a strong return for lefty Yusei Kikuchi. Though the Cubs’ acquisition of Isaac Paredes from the Rays signaled an intention to retool and compete next year, trading Taillon before today’s 5pm central deadline could still make sense.
As Mooney notes, the Astros were one of the teams that had been connected to Taillon. The Padres, Orioles, Yankees, and Red Sox have also been linked, though Baltimore picked up Zach Eflin. We’ve also seen the Brewers, Cardinals, Royals, and Red Sox add starting pitching this month. If he is to trade Taillon today, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has to contend with several better options being available on the market like Jack Flaherty, Garrett Crochet, and Blake Snell, plus similar ones in Nestor Cortes and Tyler Anderson.
Padres Notes: Taillon, Catching, DeVries
Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon has reportedly drawn interest from several teams as the trade deadline approaches, and it appears as though the Padres can be added to that list. The Athletic’s Chandler Rome, Ken Rosenthal, and Patrick Mooney write that the Friars “have Taillon on their radar,” as starting pitching remains a need in San Diego.
Joe Musgrove might be on the verge of starting a minor league rehab assignment this coming week, but he’ll need multiple ramp-up starts since he hasn’t pitched since May 26. Yu Darvish‘s last MLB game was on May 29 and his last minor league rehab game was on June 19, and his return date remains uncertain given how the veteran is still on the Padres’ restricted list dealing with a personal family issue.
San Diego’s rotation has still posted solid numbers even without these two frontline pitchers, with the trio of Dylan Cease, Michael King, and Matt Waldron leading the way. Bolstering that group with a veteran like Taillon, however, would allow the Padres to bump the struggling Adam Mazur out of the starting mix. Should the Padres get Musgrove, Darvish, and a new addition joining up with Cease, King, and Waldron, they could perhaps adopt a six-man rotation to keep everyone fresh for the playoff drive, or this semi-surplus could resolve itself should other injuries emerge.
Taillon is far more than just a rental player, as he isn’t yet halfway through the four-year, $68MM contract he signed with Chicago during the 2022-23 offseason. Taillon receives $18MM in each season of the deal, so he has roughly $43MM remaining in owed salary — a number that won’t appeal to a Padres club that is trying to reset its Competitive Balance Tax status. After paying the tax in each of the previous three seasons, staying under the CBT line was a known goal for the Padres this season, and the team is projected (as per RosterResource) for a current tax number of roughly $224.8MM.
While this gives San Diego some wiggle room under the $237MM tax threshold, acquiring Taillon would alone absorb the rest of that CBT space, to say nothing or any other additions the Padres might might before the deadline. The Padres could look to sweeten the prospect return in order to get the Cubs to cover a larger chunk of Taillon’s remaining salary, or perhaps some kind of larger multi-player deal could be arranged involving a notable contract heading from San Diego to Chicago to help offset the Taillon contract. A.J. Preller and Jed Hoyer are no strangers to creative trades, and it is perhaps worth noting that the two clubs have been linked up on multiple trades over the last eight years — most notably the blockbuster that sent Darvish to San Diego during the 2020-21 offseason.
Speculatively speaking, it might be more likely that the Padres view Taillon as something of a backup plan, as one would imagine the Friars would first explore less-expensive options before considering adding another long-term pitching contract into the organization. A possible trade might also be a moot point if Taillon happens to have San Diego as one of the 10 teams on his no-trade list, as his contract contains some partial protection against a deal.
Winners of their last six games, the streaking Padres have moved into a wild card position, and are only percentage points behind the Mets for the top NL wild card spot. Since San Diego is only 6.5 games behind the Dodgers, the NL West title isn’t yet out of the question, but in any regard, the Padres are heating up at just the right time. Preller figures to be aggressive in buying at the deadline to fully cement his team as a contender after missing the playoffs in 2023, even if upgrading while staying under the CBT line presents an interesting secondary challenge.
Beyond pitching, the Padres might also need help behind the plate, as the New York’s Post Jon Heyman writes that catching could be a target area. Luis Campusano and Kyle Higashioka have handled the catching duties this season, with Campusano hitting .237/.280/.375 with six home runs over 239 plate appearances and Higashioka showing unexpected pop in hitting .226/.269/.540 with 12 homers in 145 PA.
That translates to a 127 wRC+ for Higashioka and an 89 wRC+ for Campusano, who has also posted subpar defensive metrics. Former top prospect Campusano was seemingly starting to break out in 2023, but this season’s tough results could at least result in the loss of more playing time, if the Padres opt for the hotter hand in Higashioka. Adding a new catcher would shake things up entirely, and Campusano could potentially see himself sent to Triple-A in that scenario since he still has a minor league option remaining.
Since Ethan Salas is one of baseball’s top prospects, the Padres already have a “catcher of the future” in the wings for a couple of seasons down the road, giving them some leverage to eventually move on from Campusano if he can’t get back on track. Of course, there is danger in shuffling the catching position at midseason, and some teams shy away from deadline catching trades since it can be difficult on a catcher to join a new team and learn a new pitching staff’s tendencies on the fly.
Speaking of prospects, it remains to be seen how willing the Padres are to trade significantly from a minor league pipeline that has already been heavily mined for trades in recent years. The Athletic’s Dennis Lin opines that shortstop prospect Leodalis De Vries might not be entirely untouchable in trade talks but is at least close to such status, as “the Padres will not consider moving him for anything less than controllable, star-level talent.”
The 17-year-old De Vries was an international signing just this past January, inked to a hefty $4.2MM bonus. De Vries has already started to deliver on his potential by hitting .242/.362/.450 with nine homers and 11 steals (in 12 attempts) over his first 276 professional plate appearances, all at the A-level. Xander Bogaerts told Lin that he was very impressed by De Vries’ talent and maturity when the two were briefly teammates during Bogaerts’ minor league rehab assignment this season, further enhancing De Vries’ status as a possible future cornerstone in the Padres’ lineup. It is fair to assume plenty of other teams have taken notice and asked about De Vries in trade talks, giving Preller another big chip to possibly consider dangling for the right return by July 30.