Cubs’ pitching – Ahead of the MLB trade deadline, the Chicago Cubs are stuck with an injured pitching staff, trying to hold their position while they face a brutal stretch that could decide how aggressive Jed Hoyer’s front office is willing to be.
When Craig Counsell hears his name during pregame introductions at American Family Field, the boos still find him.
But on this Sunday, with the boos echoing and a 4-3, 10-inning win in their wake, the Cubs’ manager wasn’t talking about the standings. He was talking about the wreckage.
“I’m thinking about our team right now,” Counsell said. “We’ve just gone through this period of pitcher loss. We got to get through this phase. That’s No. 1. That’s really the focus of everything for me right now. Let’s get our team through this phase and come out the other side with some semblance of order in how we’re going to run it the rest of the year.”.
Chicago is still playing catch-up in the NL Central. The Brewers remain in first place in the National League Central. and the Cubs have pulled the gap down to 5 1/2 games with Sunday’s victory. Yet the emotional center of the season—right now—isn’t the division race. It’s the pitching staff, scattered by injuries.
The Cubs are dealing with 12 pitchers on the injured list: Cade Horton, Justin Steele, Edward Cabrera, Ben Brown, Jameson Taillon, Porter Hodge, Shelby Miller, Hoby Milner, Riley Martin, Phil Maton, Hunter Harvey, and Daniel Palencia.
On paper, that list still reads like a playoff rotation and bullpen wishlist. In practice, it’s the reason the Cubs can’t simply coast. They didn’t have enough pitching to beat the Brewers in a five-game series last October. and they couldn’t clear two more rounds after that. Still. winning two of three games over the weekend—behind three sellout crowds—showed resiliency and determination under conditions that have been anything but stable.
Now the Cubs have to survive a schedule that doesn’t slow down. Beginning Aug. 31, Chicago and Milwaukee are scheduled to play seven times over 10 days, with four of those games at Wrigley Field. Reinforcements are expected before then. both through improved health and external additions. but first the Cubs have to weather this stretch before the All-Star break.
Their current standing is second in the NL Central. Their record is 46-38. By comparison, their record this time last season was 49-35.
If the season ended today, playoff odds are 66.6 percent (FanGraphs) and 70.6 percent (Baseball Reference), placing the Cubs in a wild-card spot.
The deadline decisions are tied to one hard reality: the Cubs need pitching, and they need it now. “Current needs” are described in blunt repetition—pitching, pitching and more pitching.
Last week’s desperation deal for David Peterson. a one-time All-Star with the New York Mets. was only the start of the overhaul. Through 84 games. the Cubs have 22 quality starts. ranking near the bottom of the majors in that category. and that number puts extra pressure on a bullpen that is already fragile. Team officials acknowledge the organization’s pitching depth is almost completely gone.
That’s why the question isn’t whether Jed Hoyer will act. It’s how decisively he will.
Hoyer is known for making moves instead of sitting still. After the massive sell-off at the 2021 trade deadline that unloaded Anthony Rizzo. Kris Bryant. and Javier Báez for a group of prospects that included Pete Crow-Armstrong. Hoyer’s hand was forced by an 11-game losing streak. He also responded differently during July 2023, when a scuffling Cubs team produced an eight-game winning streak. Not only did he not trade Cody Bellinger then—he acquired Jeimer Candelario. described as possibly the best hitter moved during that transaction cycle.
So if the Cubs look like they’re searching for answers, it fits the past pattern: when the situation demands clarity, Hoyer doesn’t hesitate to make a full commitment.
What will determine what the Cubs do now is a mix of injury math and timing. The cascade of pitching injuries has exposed the roster’s biggest weakness. Milwaukee’s prolific start has reduced the likelihood of a first-round bye in the playoffs. and Hoyer believes those odds are a major factor in how aggressive a front office should be at the trade deadline.
The Cubs will supplement their pitching staff, but first they have to get healthy. They also need core players—Alex Bregman, Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner, and Seiya Suzuki—to perform up to expectations.
This roster was built around hitters drafted in the first round and rewarded with nine-figure contracts. At the moment, though, the results don’t match the blueprint. Crow-Armstrong looks like he could be the club’s only representative at the All-Star Game. Bregman. in particular. has struggled in the first season of a five-year. $175 million contract. hitting .163 with runners in scoring position and failing to generate any kind of consistent power.
Some deadline discussions are about upgrading a strength. For the Cubs, the need is to stop the hemorrhage—both for the playoffs they’re still trying to reach and the future years they can’t afford to waste.
The biggest series between now and the deadline is a four-game set against the St. Louis Cardinals. It begins July 27 at Busch Stadium. The two historic rivals could be trying to gain traction in the division race and create separation in the wild-card standings. For Chicago, this season will be a failure if they don’t make the playoffs. Because of the series timing. a good showing. a poor performance. or a costly injury could influence each organization’s deadline plans.
As for what the Cubs should do. the direction is clear: trade from the organization’s surplus of minor-league hitters to add pitching for this October and also for future years. Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, and David Peterson are eligible to become free agents after this season. Justin Steele hasn’t pitched in a game since April 7, 2025. Ben Brown, Edward Cabrera, and Cade Horton have not yet completed a full major-league season.
The farm system has only one notable pitching prospect: Jaxon Wiggins. He’s on a minor-league rehab assignment and not on the near-term radar.
The bigger pressure is structural. Given the groupthink across front offices. the reliance on projection models to make decisions. and the threat of a lockout this offseason. there are only so many times when teams are seriously willing to make deals. For the Cubs. the calculation is unavoidable: the injuries have already exposed what they can’t cover with hope alone. and they have to use the window they still have to get better now and prepare for an uncertain future.
Chicago Cubs MLB trade deadline Craig Counsell Jed Hoyer pitching injuries David Peterson NL Central Milwaukee Brewers St. Louis Cardinals playoff odds
Boos for Counsell again?? dude just can’t catch a break lol.
So the Cubs are injured and “stuck” and somehow the trade deadline is the problem? I feel like they should’ve planned better before everyone went down.
Wait I thought they were winning like crazy and then suddenly it’s a pitching collapse. 4-3 in 10 innings sounds good though? But then it says wreckage… like what happened, one bad inning or what.
Jed Hoyer better do something before the deadline or Brewers will run away with it (because they always do, right?). Also the “boos” part is kinda wild, like fans still mad about the earlier stuff with Counsell? Pitchers getting hurt is just bad luck, but you’d think they’d have depth. idk.