Cubs’ injured starting pitchers nearing returns as rotation awaits reinforcements

Cubs fans maybe didn’t get the starting-pitching reinforcements they were hoping for at the trade deadline.

But reinforcements are coming to the Cubs’ starting staff, chiefly in the form of rehabbing righty Jameson Taillon, who will make his first rehab start with Triple-A Iowa on Sunday as he works his way back from a strained calf.

Much like fans weren’t jazzed about the trade-deadline import of right-hander Michael Soroka – who officially joined the active roster Saturday and will make his first start in a Cubs uniform Monday against the Reds – they’re unlikely to feel completely fortified on the starting-pitching front just because Taillon will be back as planned.

While Taillon has been a steady presence, he’s not the top-of-the-rotation addition fans desired. Across baseball, such acquisitions were a rarity before Thursday’s deadline.

But the Cubs seemingly could have used one, with elbow surgery knocking lefty Justin Steele from his perch atop the starting staff in the season’s early days and the depth behind him tested throughout the summer.

Instead, the Cubs will bank on improving health and hope that things stay that way.

Taillon’s return will be a big deal in that department, especially if he’s able to turn in more consistent results than the 4.44 ERA and 22 homers he allowed in his 17 pre-injury starts.

“We’re excited to get him back healthy,” lefty starter Matthew Boyd said after Saturday’s game, a 4-3 Cubs loss. “He’s a presence in the clubhouse, even when he’s not pitching. This whole time, he’s still made his impact felt. He’s always offering feedback for us. He’s always picking us up. Even though he wasn’t pitching, he was contributing to this team.

“We’re excited to get him back out there, because when he’s on the mound, man, it’s fun to watch.”

Also on the mend is righty Javier Assad, scheduled to make his next Triple-A rehab start next Wednesday. Assad hasn’t thrown a major league pitch this season thanks to a strained oblique.

But once healthy, he could find himself an important depth piece for the rotation as the Cubs try to keep their staff in the best shape heading toward what they hope is a deep October run.

On top of just needing to assemble the best five-man rotation they can to compete with the Brewers in an exciting NL Central race, the Cubs will need more than just five arms as they watch rookie Cade Horton’s innings count and perhaps be wary of Boyd’s, too. The All-Star lefty in his first full season since Tommy John surgery and has already thrown his most innings (130 2/3) since the 2019 season.

Boyd was sensational Saturday, throwing seven shutout innings against the Orioles.

Remembering Ryno

Every Cubs player sported the No. 23 on the backs of their jerseys Saturday, a tribute to franchise legend Ryne Sandberg, who died last week.

“I thought it was a really beautiful way of doing it. Very simple, but it was hard to look at every ballplayer on the field and not think about him,” said second baseman Nico Hoerner, who honored Sandberg by wearing the flip-up sunglasses associated with the Hall of Famer. “For fans out there who watched him for 15 years here, all the memories that creates, hopefully that was how it felt for people, just reminding them of the joy that he brought them and the amazing legacy he leaves behind.”