Gage Workman's latest run with the Tigers looks all too familiar to Cubs fans

Although the Chicago Cubs are suffering through a deeply uncompetitive ten-game skid in which they've fallen from first place in the NL Central to last, their struggles aren't the worst of any MLB team. Case in point, the Detroit Tigers. Hoping to compete in the AL Central after making the playoffs last year, everything has gone wrong in the Motor City with a by far league-worst 5-18 record in May, dropping them to 21-34 and 10 games behind the first-place Guardians. Three of their starters, including Tarik Skubal, are also injured, and the offense is second-worst in all of baseball with a 70 wRC+ this month, ahead of only the Colorado Rockies.

Part of those struggles can be tied to an old Cubs friend, too. Gage "Tater" Workman returned to the majors after a strong start with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens, in which he slashed .358/.413/.590 in 150 plate appearances while cutting his usually sky-high strikeout rate down to 23.3%. With Kerry Carpenter going down with a shoulder sprain earlier this month, it seemed like a perfect chance to give him a shot. He even rewarded them early on by living up to his middle name and launching his first career home run in his debut.

However, since then, it's been more of the Workman that Cubs fans experienced. Since his promotion, he's hit .188/.188/.469 with a 75 wRC+ in a limited 32 plate appearances. The strikeout issues have also been back with a vengeance at 50%, and his otherwise solid defense at the hot corner has left much to be desired, with two errors plus a third mistake at second base. Compared to his brief nine-game stint in Chicago last year, the one positive is his two long balls, but contact has always been the greatest concern for his professional future.

One other big contrast between these two stints is that the Tigers and Cubs had vastly different purposes in mind for Workman. Jed Hoyer and company selected him as a Rule 5 draft pick out of Double-A, and his unforgettable Spring Training (.414/.455/.759 slash line in 33 appearances) was enough to earn a shot in the big leagues. The hope was that his defense and speed, combined with the offensive upside, would be enough to make him a worthwhile utility piece. It was not, and his .214/.267/.286 slash line and 57 wRC+ began what was a year-long struggle to cobble together a competent bench.

Workman's best chance at a big league future was likely always going to be in Detroit, given that Rule-5 picks have to be returned to their old teams if they can't remain on an MLB roster through the end of the year. He very much looked the part of an overmatched Double-A prospect between the Cubs and White Sox, who picked him up shortly after he was DFA'd, only to similarly jettison him after just three games. Upon returning to his original organization, he was able to keep focusing on development, making his Triple-A debut and slashing .229/.324/.482 with a 37.9% strikeout rate.

Even if he's struggling now, the Tigers are in a position with injuries to give him a bit of runway until they get healthy. After that, it's likely back down to Toledo to apply what he's learned. It shows how hard it can be to develop players, how big a jump the majors are, and ultimately how much of a risk it was for a competitive Cubs team to lean on Workman off the bench. With his tools and more time, there may yet be a path to a successful career.

The Chicago Cubs learned their lesson from the Gage Workman saga

It's hard to focus on right now, given the state of the Cubs, but they did take a better approach to building a bench in 2026. Instead of relying entirely on minor leaguers and risks like Workman, signing Alex Bregman allowed them to employ Matt Shaw in a utility role to give guys days off and optimize the roster for whatever pitcher was on the mound. Michael Conforto and Dylan Carlson also brought more big-league track records, and the former, at least, ended up being one of the year's best surprises so far. There's also Tyler Austin, who has yet to make his return to the majors, but showed a lot of promise coming off two great seasons with NPB's Yokohama BayStars.

Perhaps it's fitting, then, that the bench has faced the same woes the rest of the roster has. Shaw just went on the injured list, Austin has yet to receive a concrete update since undergoing knee surgery in February, and Conforto's hot start has since cooled. For now, Pedro Ramirez and Kevin Alcantara are filling spots, attempting to provide a spark and recapture some of the depth the Cubs have lost.

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