The Chicago Cubs are moving through their last week of spring training, fine tuning some things, and hoping for the best as they head into a 2026 season where big results are expected. Things, however, haven’t gone exactly as expected.
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The Cubs’ run of bad luck may have continued on Friday night in a split squad 6-2 loss to the Athletics at Hohokam Park in Mesa, Arizona.
Javier Assad pulled from game
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Starter/swingman Javier Assad had to be pulled from the game by manager Craig Counsell in the bottom of the eighth inning, 50 pitches into a relief appearance, with an apparent finger injury. Video replays subsequently showed that injury to likely be a blister-related issue.
Assad, who recently turned 28, had been having a very good spring, along with a very solid run in the World Baseball Classic as part of Team Mexico. His work this offseason seemed to bolster the case for him making the Opening Day roster, despite chatter that being one of the few Cubs pitchers with minor league options could have him opening the year at Triple-A Iowa.
As of this writing, there’s been no update on the injury or on what, exactly, it was, although it pretty clearly shows it to be a blister. The timing of this setback, though, will have big implications on whether Assad breaks spring training with the big league Cubs or finds himself starting the regular season in the minors.
This latest bit of bad news shows one more crack in the foundation of what many saw as a pretty deep and solid starting rotation. While Assad wasn’t expected to make the starting five, he was expected to be a valuable swingman and one of the key backups in case of injury or poor performance.
Taillon’s struggles continue
One of the biggest rotation concerns this spring is Jameson Taillon, who has been getting bashed around during Cactus League play to an alarming extent. The veteran starter, who will be eligible for free agency at the end of this coming season, started Friday’s game with the Athletics and delivered another disappointing outing. Despite four initial shutout innings, 2 home runs in the fifth accounted for 3 earned runs in those 4 innings pitched (although his 6 strikeouts were a nice sidebar). The 34-year-old ends the spring with a 0-4 record and a 17.55 ERA in 5 games and 13.1 innings pitched.
Needless to say, this is not the lead-in to 2026 that Taillon or the Cubs wanted.
An Assad injury just complicated issues further as it possibly takes one of the key backup options off the table for an undisclosed period of time.
As of right now, the Cubs 5-man rotation still seems to be locked in with Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera, Shota Imanaga, and Taillon. Colin Rea and Assad stand as swingmen who can step in as starters. Justin Steele, meanwhile, is due back around May-June after season ending elbow surgery last April.
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