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The Chicago Cubs almost ended up winning a game Monday night they were set up to lose from the first inning. Unfortunately, a brutal two innings of poor execution at the end of the game allowed the Detroit Tigers to take back the momentum and close the show with an 8-6 win in ten innings at Wrigley Field.
This was truly a group-effort loss as there were many goats to toss cans at. The first—and arguably biggest—goat, though, may have been returning veteran starter Jameson Taillon.
The 34-year-old righty was coming back from a six-week stint on the IL with a left hamstring strain and, following a pattern he had established before the injury, got lit up in the first inning. All told, he gave up four earned runs and two home runs over 4.1 innings, but he put the Cubs behind 4-0 before they even got their first at bat.
Taillon gets lit up, again
And while this first outing back from the IL could be chalked up to rust, it’s important to double back and reemphasize that this start on Monday really wasn’t all that different from what he was doing when 100% healthy and active. On the year, Taillon is 2-5 with a 5.38 ERA over 14 starts and 72 innings.
If there were four other healthy, productive starters on the Cubs rotation, maybe they could overlook Taillon’s inability to avoid the long ball and keep the team in games. But this is a rotation rattled and strained by the season-ending elbow injury to Cade Horton, the extended IL stints of Ben Brown and Edward Cabrera, and the setback to ace Justin Steele’s comeback following last year’s elbow surgery.
But even under these circumstances, it might be better to have almost anyone else out there every fifth game.
“Totally unacceptable”
Joe George of the Locked on Cubs Postcast touched on the frustration over the veteran’s struggles in his post-game wrap-up:
“If Taillon’s gonna be out there, it can’t be like this. It’s not sustainable. It sets you up for failure…Going out there and being the home run derby guy at the start of these games is totally unacceptable and that has to change. If it doesn’t change, the Cubs are going to have to make an acquisition at the deadline to push Jameson Taillon off this roster…The only reason he doesn’t lead major league baseball in home runs is because he’s been hurt for so long.”
Taillon, who came to the Cubs in 2023 on a 4-year, $68 million contract, is eligible for free agency at the end of this season and it’s a sure thing that Chicago will not make any effort to re-sign him.
On most teams, he probably would’ve been either cut already or relegated to the bullpen. The Cubs, though, are desperate for arms and they pretty much have no choice but to keep marching him out there.
The hope is that a trade deadline haul, along with the return of some of their own injured pitchers, could allow for Taillon to be given some less high-profile role on the staff.
In the meantime, we’re probably going to see a lot more outings like Monday’s.
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