Cubs push back Jameson Taillon's start vs. Pirates as he deals with back issue

PITTSBURGH – Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon felt what he called a “little tweak” Tuesday in his back while he was warming up for his scheduled bullpen session in between starts.

It wasn’t nearly as bad as the back injury he sustained in spring training, which kept him in bed for three days and delayed his progression enough to land him on the IL to begin the season.

“But enough to say something and try not to push through that day,” Taillon said.

He was originally lined up to pitch Friday, in the Cubs’ series opener against the Pirates. But the team pushed back his start to address the issue, and right-hander Javier Assad started Friday instead.

Taillon will test his back on Saturday with catch play and, if that goes well, throwing off the mound.

“Even if it's five to 10 [pitches],” Taillon siad, “just to make sure we have our confidence up, and that if I tell them I'm good to go, we know that I can go out there and rip it off the mound and not just go out there and wing it and put the team in a bad spot.”

If Taillon’s back passes those tests, he could start Sunday against the Pirates. And after playing catch Friday, Taillon described his confidence level as “high.”

“I'm anticipating tomorrow going well and being out there Sunday,” he said.

If Taillon isn’t ready to pitch Sunday, rookie Ben Brown could fill in. The Cubs planned for Brown to be available out of the bullpen against the Padres this week, but when Taillon’s back issue cropped up, he became the obvious choice to provide length if the injury lingered. Brown last pitched on May 2.

Of course, if the Cubs need to use him out of the bullpen before Sunday, that could change the calculation.

“I’d feel guilty if I can't do my job and I put other guys in a bad spot,” Taillon said. “But it is a luxury to have usable and real depth, to where if something were to not feel perfect tomorrow, or feel right where I can pitch through it, we do have usable, really good depth.”

Taillon has been a big part of the Cubs rotation’s dominant stretch the past few weeks. The Cubs rotation entered play Friday with a 2.11 ERA since Taillon returned from the IL on April 19, the best mark in the majors during that stretch. And Taillon (1.13 ERA) hasn’t allowed more than one earned run in any of his four starts.

“I feel like I've been doing everything in my power to be proactive about this and to not let something like this happen,” said Taillon, who has added a back and core routine to his customized warm-up program. “So, I can, in a way, kind of live with it, just because I feel like I've been doing all the right work and stuff. But still frustrating.”