Cubs already know one former first-round pick who won't replace Matthew Boyd

The Chicago Cubs are suddenly dealing with the loss of Matthew Boyd. Boyd suffered a meniscus injury while playing with his kids on Wednesday and will require surgery. The hope from the Cubs is that he will pitch again this season, but depending on the type of surgery needed, that may not be possible.

With Javier Assad already with the club, conventional wisdom would point to Assad moving back to the rotation. After all, Assad took Boyd's spot in the rotation previously this season when the veteran suffered a bicep strain.

Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Craig Counsell wasn't ready to reveal how the Cubs would move forward in their rotation without Boyd. The Athletic's Sahadev Sharma (subscription required) worked through the potential options, and one name not under consideration is former first-round pick Jordan Wicks.

Jordan Wicks may have fallen out of favor with the Cubs

Given how the Cubs have had to shuffle through pitching options during the first month of the season, chances are Wicks would have already been on the roster had it not been for an injury suffered during spring training.

Wicks is healthy, completing a minor-league rehab assignment with the Iowa Cubs, but the results haven't been encouraging. The 26-year-old only has 11 and 1/3 innings pitched through four starts with an ERA of 9.53. Wicks is also striking out under 14% of the hitters he's faced with the I-Cubs this year.

Beyond the results Wicks has been getting, he's not stretched out to the point that he's a viable option for the Cubs. Ryan Rolison is capable of being a bulk option in the bullpen, and Trent Thornton's 2026 debut on Wednesday night was encouraging.

Perhaps the circumstances surrounding Wicks will change once he proves to be fully recovered and stretched out, but it would seem that the 2021 draft pick has fallen out of favor with the organization. He was used as nothing more than an up-and-down arm last year, and it's hard to imagine his role changing this season.

It's another reminder that if the Cubs haven't used a specific pitcher by this point in the season, and they've been available, they may prefer other options. Not that the Cubs have many available options as it is.

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