This Cubs player is on the chopping block when Jameson Taillon, Javier Assad return

If you were hoping the Chicago Cubs would use Friday's opener against St. Louis to get things back on track, you woke up on Saturday sorely disappointed. Once again, the bats were nonexistent and the cherry on top was Ryan Brasier failed to keep things close after coming on in relief of Matthew Boyd.

So now the Cubs are five games back of Milwaukee in the divisional race. The big bats show no sign of snapping their recent cold streaks and things just aren't feeling great right now. The hope is that the impending returns of Miguel Amaya, Javier Assad and Jameson Taillon can help turn things around, and when the latter two come back, Brasier feels like the odd man out in the equation.

Brasier had been a solid middle-innings guy for Craig Counsell since getting a late start to the year on May 24. Through July 25, the right-hander carried a 0.93 ERA and 1.82 FIP in 19 1/3 innings of work. But that hasn't been the case over the last week-plus, as the righty has fallen on hard times.

Over his last five outings, he's allowed two or more runs in three of them and allowed one run in another. His ineffectiveness has come at the worst time as the Cubs desperately try to hang around as Milwaukee continues to pile up victories.

Ryan Brasier feels like the logical cut when Cubs get to full strength

If you bring Taillon and Assad back, the guess would be both slot into the rotation and Rea becomes the swing man. You can flip-flop Rea and Assad however you'd like, but assuming Nate Pearson is one of the guys going to Iowa in exchange for the two arms, it's not clear who would be the second. Given his recent ineffectiveness and the situation the Cubs find themselves in where every game is magnified, I'd be surprised, barring an IL stint for someone, if anyone but Brasier was the casualty.

The juggling of spots on the pitching staff is one thing, but let's not lose sight of the real issue here. This offense has looked lost for the last month and the holes elsewhere on the roster have been amplified by the team's inability to hang crooked numbers like they did in the first half. Cutting Brasier is fine, but it's not going to get the team back on track. Only the bats can do that.