Cubs rotation running on fumes takes another blow with Jameson Taillon injury

The Chicago Cubs' starting rotation was trending toward full-ish strength in recent days. Edward Cabrera's return to the team couldn't have gone much worse, but at least he's healthy, and Matthew Boyd rejoined the club after three rehab starts with Triple-A Iowa and is expected to start later this week.

But, right on cue, the Cubs were hit with another pitching injury when Jameson Taillon departed in the top of the second inning Sunday night with a hamstring strain. The right-hander told reporters after the game he's headed to the IL, but is hopeful it's nothing too serious. An update is expected in the next day or so as to how long he could be sidelined.

“Obviously, it’ll be an IL stint,” Taillon said. “But hopefully we can keep the arm conditioned and moving around. I don’t think it’s surgical or anything like that. I’m getting an MRI tomorrow and we’ll know more then.”

After a brutal start to the season, Taillon had finally delivered a quality start his last time out, firing 6 1/3 innings of two-run ball against the Athletics, giving hope that he was about to turn the corner heading into the summer months. Instead, he'll hit the shelf, and I don't think we need to guess who will take his spot in the rotation.

Matthew Boyd can slot back in to take Jameson Taillon's rotation spot

The one bright spot in the Cubs' latest miserable showing on Sunday? Javier Assad. The right-hander, recently recalled from Iowa, stepped up in a big way, coming in when Taillon left with the injury, tossing 6 1/3 scoreless frames, allowing just one hit and punching out five.

If not for the imminent return of Boyd, Assad would likely draw another start - and I wouldn't rule anything out, but chances are Boyd will take Taillon's spot in the rotation, which will come up next this weekend in San Francisco. It's also worth noting Assad has been better out of the pen than in the rotation this year - and he's been really good at Wrigley.

We can talk about pitching all we want, but we all know what needs to change with this team. It doesn't much matter who pitches or how they perform if the bats continue to come up short and fail to deliver with runners in scoring position.

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