Craig Counsell’s Jameson Taillon comments add new Cubs uncertainty before trade deadline

The Chicago Cubs may have reached the point of no return with Jameson Taillon. Given the status of the Cubs' pitching staff, waiting for several arms to get healthy and potential additions ahead of the trade deadline, it feels premature to speculate that the Cubs will cut their losses with Taillon. Instead, it seems that Craig Counsell is evaluating a role change.

Taillon got the start against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday, and things quickly went off the rails. Taillon gave up seven runs within the first three innings of the game, including a grand slam in the third inning.

After giving up three home runs on Sunday, Taillon's total for the season is up to 25, tied for the most of any pitcher in baseball. With a scheduled start against the New York Yankees on Friday, it led to an obvious question for Craig Counsell after the game.

Taillon's struggles have reached the point where if the pitching staff was healthy, he would be an obvious DFA candidate. Taillon is a free agent after the season, but the fact that Ben Brown, Edward Cabrera, Justin Steele, and Cade Horton are all on the IL is what is probably going to keep him with the Cubs through the deadline.

Cubs are running out of options for Jameson Taillon

If anything, Taillon's continued struggles on Sunday was a reminder of how important it is for the Cubs to acquire a starting pitcher at the deadline capable of a starting a game in the postseason.

Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga are a safe bet to be in the Cubs' postseason rotation, but questions linger after that. Cabrera almost certainly would be in line for a start, assuming health, and the remaining starter will likely be who the Cubs add at the deadline.

For a contender, August and September are often meant as time to shape the roster in the form it needs to be for the postseason. That's where it becomes hard mapping out what Taillon's role would be if he's not in the rotation. He doesn't have the pitch-mix to be someone the Cubs should trust pitching out of the bullpen, and the defintion of insanity would be keeping him in the rotation.

There's no obvious answer for what lies next for the Cubs. It's a waiting game. If the Cubs are successful in their efforts at the deadline, perhaps that will mark the end of Taillon's tenure in Chicago.

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