Assad is sidelined with an oblique injury
Welcome to your end of the weekend, start of the week, indie coffee shop where we are serving up all the drinks to end your weekend right alongside the caffeinated beverages to start your week off right. Be sure you bus your tables and tip your waiters so Josh allows us to keep using this space next week.
As the weekend winds down so does the Cubs no-loss streak. It was an epic run, but as Al mentioned earlier, all good things…
In less than two weeks the Cubs will head to Japan to open the MLB season. As we discussed at the end of the week, Nico Hoerner will not make the trip as he rehabs from an oblique injury. Matt Shaw has not been ruled out for the Japan Series and played in his first Cactus League game today. But at the backend of the rotation there are some questions marks with Javier Assad still rehabbing an oblique injury.
So after some tunes we’ll speculate about the backend of the Cubs rotation…
I’ve been in a bit of a retro mood with these songs lately and this classic from Buffalo Springfield spoke to me tonight:
For what it’s worth has an unmistakable intro with the twang on the guitar as the lyrics open. And despite being associated with the Vietnam War protests in the 60’s I found multiple sources that tied this song to the counterculture protests with police on the Sunset Strip rather than the anti-war movement, at least initially.
There’s something happening here
But what it is ain’t exactly clear
There’s a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to bewareI think it’s time we stop
Children, what’s that sound?
Everybody look, what’s going down?
For what it’s worth rose as high as #7 on the Billboard 100 in the United States after it’s debut in 1967.
There’s battle lines being drawn
Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behindIt’s time we stop
Hey, what’s that sound?
Everybody look, what’s going down?
Regardless of which protest Buffalo Springfield meant to cover, the way For what it’s worth has become synonymous with protest. That is a tribute to the song’s staying power.
Back here in Cubslandia we’re looking at a starting rotation of Justin Steele, Shōta Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, Matthew Boyd and some pitcher to be determined. That fifth spot would normally belong to Javier Assad who has pitched extremely well from the back of the rotation for two seasons now, however, an oblique injury makes it unlikely Assad will be ready for Opening Day.
So that leaves a spot open. The next men up to my eye look to be some combination of Colin Rea, Ben Brown, Jordan Wicks and/or Keegan Thompson. While Brown and Wicks might be the more intriguing options on paper, their cases are complicated by the fact that each of them have options. Rea and Thompson do not have options, so sending them to the minors risks the club losing them altogether.
In comparing Thompson and Rea, Rea has the more successful recent career at a starter. He threw 167 2⁄3 innings for the Brewers last year going 12-6 with a 4.29 ERA compared to Thompson’s 30 1⁄3 innings with a 2-1 record and a 2.67 ERA. You may look at the ERA and think the Cubs should error on giving Thompson more chances, but the innings alone tip this in Rea’s favor to open the season to my eye.
If options were not a thing, the highest upside guy in the Cubs system for that spot is likely Brown who was spectacular in a starting role last year before being diagnosed with a neck issue. That was later revealed to be an osteoma in recent reporting by The Athletic.
So I ask you, BCB After Dark: Who do you think should take the final rotation spot for the Cubs? Should they prioritize keeping as many guys in the system as possible or should they go with the highest upside arms early?