The Chicago Cubs announced that Starting Pitcher Javier Assad will not be ready to join the major league roster for Opening Day. The news comes as Assad tries to rehab from a strained oblique injury sustained earlier in the spring. The hope had been that Assad would be ready for Opening Day in Tokyo. Or at the very latest, be available for the team when they begin play in the United States at the end of March.
Assad was slated to be in the starting rotation for the second straight year in a full-time role. His absence opens the door for some other players to step in and take his place, perhaps permanently. The team signed Matthew Boyd and Colin Rea to deals in the offseason. Jordan Wicks and Ben Brown have been flirting with full-time roles in the rotation over the last couple of seasons. Cade Horton, the Chicago Cubs’ top pitching prospect, is back to full strength and poised to make a run at a slot in the starting rotation by the end of 2025. Assad has been productive, but this injury could force him out of a job this season.
Javier Assad Out For Start Of Season
The Chicago Cubs will be without right-handed Starter Assad for the start of the 2025 campaign. The 27-year-old suffered an oblique injury earlier in Spring Training. After initial optimism that he could make a speedy recovery, it is now expected that he will miss the beginning of the regular season. Assad has been a quality arm for the Chicago Cubs for three seasons. He began in 2022 as a September call-up in the rotation, in 2023 splitting time between the bullpen and the starting rotation, and last year as a full-time starter.
Last year as a full-time starter, Assad made 29 starts, going 7-6 with a 3.73 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, and 124 strikeouts in 147 innings. 2024 was a solid season by any calculation for an end of the rotation pitcher, but for Assad, it was a step back. In 2022 and 2023, he appeared in 41 games, making 18 starts, and pitching to the tune of a 7-5 record with a 3.06 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and 124 strikeouts across 147 innings.
He was expected to be a key contributor to the starting rotation again in 2025, but this injury news might change that. With other options on the active roster, Assad has opened the door for someone else to take his place in the rotation. Colin Rea, Ben Brown, Jordan Wicks and Cade Horton are top candidates to fill in for Assad as he rehabs the injury. Brown might end up with a bigger role in the bullpen and Horton is still a prospect in the minors, but Rea and Wicks will have the chance to wrestle a starting role away from the Mexican-born hurler.
Chicago Cubs Starting Rotation Adjustment
After a busy offseason, the Chicago Cubs starting rotation remains largely intact. The rumors and possible moves that the front office could’ve made never materialized and the top three arms in the rotation are the same as in 2024. Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele, and Jameson Taillon are ensconced in Craig Counsell’s rotation. After the departure of Kyle Hendricks, the Chicago Cubs signed Matthew Boyd in the offseason to a two-year $29 million deal.
That left Assad retaining his spot in the rotation but with the extended rehab for his oblique injury. The team will need to rely on Rea and Wicks to pick up his workload while he recovers. The Chicago Cubs signed Rea in the offseason to reunite him with Counsell after the duo spent time together in Milwaukee. Wicks has been flirting with the starting rotation between oblique and forearm injuries of his own.
With just one full year as a starter, Assad could open himself up to being relegated back to the bullpen, especially after having more success in that long-relief role he had in 2023. Rea or Wicks will have to take advantage of the opportunity and pitch effectively in April. The chance is theirs for the taking and if they produce at the bottom of the rotation, Assad’s role with the team could be in flux.
Final Thoughts
The Chicago Cubs should be able to withstand Assad’s injury for the first couple of weeks of the 2025 regular season if it does take him that long to rehab from his oblique injury. The main concern should be for Assad’s long-term standing with the team. If Rea, Wicks, Brown, or Cade Horton take advantage of the open opportunity with the final spot in the starting rotation, Assad could be relegated back to the bullpen where he spent a lot of time in his first pair of seasons in Chicago.
I still believe Brown has a productive future with the Chicago Cubs but in the bullpen. Assad shouldn’t have to worry about him. Rea, Wicks, and Horton are another story. Rea has been a reliable veteran arm for Counsell in the past. That familiarity might tip the scales in Rea’s favor if he produces in the early going and it comes down to deciding between giving Assad his spot back or sticking with Rea. Wicks and Horton are younger than Assad and if Counsell wants to see what they can do and values potential over established production, Assad’s situation in Chicago could change.
I hope that Assad makes a healthy recovery and gets his role back as a starter. He paid his dues in the bullpen and has been a consistent pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. If he is overtaken by one of the other options on the ball club, I wonder if he would accept going back to the bullpen or the minors. It’s possible that he would ask for a trade and an opportunity to start again for a new team, and with the three-year sample of his major league work there would be plenty of suitors.
