The Cubs are set to activate left-hander Jordan Wicks from the 60-day IL tomorrow, supervisor Craig Counsell advised reporters (together with Megan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune) earlier this night. Wicks is scheduled to take the ball for tomorrow’s begin towards the Nationals in D.C. in a transfer that can push again the subsequent begin of right-hander Jameson Taillon. An lively roster transfer gained’t be essential to make room for Wicks because of tomorrow’s scheduled roster enlargement, however Chicago will nonetheless must clear a spot on their 40-man roster with a purpose to activate Wicks.
The lefty’s return to the majors is one thing of a birthday current for him, as he’ll flip 25 tomorrow. The teen was the Cubs’ first-round choose again in 2021 and made his huge league debut late final season. Since then, he’s pitched to roughly league common outcomes with stable peripherals. His 4.31 ERA is sort of precisely league common (99 ERA+), however his 3.98 FIP paints a considerably rosier image. Wicks was off to a robust begin in 28 innings of labor this yr with a 25% strikeout fee towards a 7.8% stroll fee that left him with a formidable 3.10 FIP and three.80 SIERA, however the southpaw has struggled to remain wholesome this yr.
After an elbow scare that proved to be insignificant value him the month of Might, Wicks has now missed two and a half months because of an indirect pressure he suffered in mid June. Now that he’s wholesome once more, the teen figures to fit again into the membership’s rotation frequently down the stretch. Whereas the Cubs nonetheless sit on the periphery of the playoff race with a 70-66 report that leaves them 4 video games again of a Wild Card spot, with playoff odds of simply 5.4% per Fangraphs it appears seemingly that the main focus for Wicks down the stretch can be establishing himself as a wholesome and efficient rotation possibility for the Cubs headed into subsequent season.
Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga are poised to return subsequent season as a robust top-of-the-rotation duo, whereas Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad determine to proceed holding down the center of the membership’s rotation after stable seasons of their very own. Franchise icon and 11-year MLB veteran Kyle Hendricks seems all however sure to not return in 2025, nonetheless, because the pending free agent has struggled to a ghastly 6.75 ERA in 102 2/3 innings of labor this yr. That leaves common begins accessible within the membership’s rotation subsequent yr that quite a lot of younger arms might look to capitalize on, together with Wicks, right-hander Ben Brown, and high pitching prospect Cade Horton.
Within the quick time period, nonetheless, the Cubs should determine how they need to arrange their rotation for the stretch run this September. With Wicks again and Steele, Imanaga, Taillon, Assad, and Hendricks all wholesome, they membership might go for a six man rotation or as soon as once more demote Hendricks to the bullpen. Whereas the previous would provide the membership the chance to handle Imanaga’s innings as he continues his transition from NPB play to the majors, the latter is the route they took once they confronted a rotation crunch again in Might, when Hendricks was sporting a brutal 10.57 ERA via seven begins.
The soft-tossing righty’s 5.62 ERA in 12 begins since returning to the rotation has been an enchancment over that aforementioned eye-popping determine, it’s nonetheless properly beneath common, and provided that actuality it might hardly be a shock if the Cubs moved him again to the multi-inning reduction position that noticed him submit a stable 3.08 ERA and 4.18 FIP in 14 1/3 innings earlier this yr. That’s significantly true given the truth that Imanaga has thrown simply 146 2/3 innings to this point this yr, a determine that’s bit decrease than the 170 frames that represents his profession excessive throughout his time in Japan.
