The Cubs announced that right-hander Jameson Taillon He was placed on the 15-day disabled list. The team also worked well Aaron Civalerecently acquired from the Athletics. In parallel steps, place them correctly Phil Maton on the 15-day injured list due to tendinitis of the right knee and the designated left hand Drew Pomeranz by share.
Pomeranz was added to the list earlier this month. The Cubs were able to get him a minor league contract after the Angels released him. Since joining the Cubs, the lefty has played in six games but allowed five earned runs in 5 2/3 innings while issuing four walks and striking out just one batter.
It was in the Cubs that Pomeranz had a big bounceback season last year. He missed three entire seasons, from 2022 to 2024, due to various injuries related to his pitching arm. He returned to the majors with the Cubs last year and pitched 49 2/3 innings with a 2.17 earned run average, a 28.1% strikeout rate and a 7.4% walk rate. He parlayed that into a $4MM deal with the Halos but couldn’t move on. Between the Angels and Cubs, he now has a 5.59 ERA, a 12.6% strikeout rate and an 11.9% walk rate over 29 innings this year.
Given the poor results, Pomeranz will likely be a free agent again in a few days. He won’t collect much interest on the waiver wire. He has more than enough service time to refuse direct assignment. The Cubs may skip that routine and release him. He could probably get another minor league offer by then based on his track record. He was one of the best pitchers in baseball for parts of the 2019 to 2021 window. He’s been injured a lot since then but he looked just as good last year.
If he ends up on another list at some point, he’ll be cheap. The Angels are stuck with his remaining salary since they released him. Another club can sign him and pay him only the divisional minimum for any time he spends on the roster, as the Cubs recently did.
The return of Taillon, who missed more than a month with a strained hamstring, will hopefully help stabilize a rotation that has been hit hard by injuries this year. Late Horton out for a year due to Tommy John surgery. Justin Steele he’s trying to come back from his own UCL surgery but he’s hit the nail on the head. If he is able to come back this year, it will be a relief. Ben Brown again Edward Cabrera they are also currently in IL.
The Cubs just gave the ball away Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga again Colin Rea. They benefited David Peterson from the Mets late last month and plugged him into the mix. Civale’s deal also gave them an extra arm. That group will hold things down for now. The Cubs will look to make more moves before the Aug. 3 deadline. Despite all the injuries, the Cubs are 56-43, hold the Wild Card spot and are in position to buy in the next two weeks.
Maton’s injuries have apparently been ongoing throughout the year. This is his third IL stage of the season because of that knee issue. Even when he was on the field, he was unsuccessful. He has a 6.18 ERA over 31 appearances. That’s a far cry from the 2.79 ERA he posted with the Cardinals and Rangers last year. That prompted the Cubs to offer him a two-year contract worth $14.5MM.
Maton’s injury has been part of a bigger issue for the rest of the team, as has the rotation. Hunter Harvey, Porter Hodge, Riley Martin, Shelby Miller, Hoby Milner, Daniel Palencia again Ethan Roberts they are all in IL and now Maton has joined them again. In addition to their rotation duties, the Cubs should look for relief arms in the coming weeks.
Photo courtesy of Matt Marton, Imagn Images
