Cubs could be giving Ben Brown one last start before trade talks heat up

Jameson Taillon's spot in the Chicago Cubs' starting rotation will be up on Monday when the Cubs host the Kansas City Royals at Wrigley Field, and it seems that the stage is set for Ben Brown to make his return to the Major League team. Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports that Brown is expected to make the start for the Cubs on Monday night.

Assuming Brown does make the start for the Cubs on Monday, it will be his first appearance with the Major League team since a June 23 start against the St. Louis Cardinals. It was a start that saw Brown give up 8 runs in 5 innings pitched, making it clear that he was in need of a reset at Triple-A.

While Brown has the stuff to suggest he can be a very good starting pitcher at the Major League level, the lack of a third pitch often led to hitters sitting on the fastball and not missing when they identified it. Even with that anticipation, Brown still struck out over 25 percent of the hitters he has faced this season.

While remaining a starting pitcher for the Iowa Cubs, the goal for Brown was to remain stretched out with the expectation that he would eventually find his way back to the Major League roster. Taillon's injury does create the opening for Brown, even if it's just until the Cubs add a starting pitcher at the MLB trade deadline.

Ben Brown is back for the Cubs (but for how long?)

Along those lines, Brown's name, after his demotion to Triple-A, was beginning to be spotted in trade rumors. The idea being that if the Cubs were going to acquire a starting pitcher, especially one under control beyond this season, Brown would be a likely candidate to be included in the deal. However, that honor may now lie with Jordan Wicks.

In 2 starts with the I-Cubs, Brown has looked fine, giving up 1 run on 4 hits in 9 innings of work. Of note, however, is that he only had 5 strikeouts. That may just be a sign that Brown was working on a different pitcher as opposed to his put-away slider.

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