Chicago Cubs Star Pitcher Reaggravates Injury, Could Miss Even More Time

The Chicago Cubs got some bad news in the injury department this week from someone they were hoping to get back in the near future.

Aug 31, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Javier Assad (72) throws a pitch against the Washington Nationals during the sixth inning at Nationals Park. | Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs got some rough news this week on a pitcher they were hoping to get back in the near future.

Entering the year, young right-hander Javier Assad began the season on the injured list with a left oblique issue after making 29 starts during the 2024 campaign.

Assad was slated to return sometime in the next couple of weeks after originally being given a timeline that would have had him miss a month of action to start of the year by manager Craig Counsell.

Working his way through rehab starts in Triple-A, Assad was on the mound for his second in Iowa this week before he suffered some sort of setback and reaggravated the injury.

According to Counsell, Assad is returning to Chicago for further evaluation as the team tries to find out exactly what the issue is and how long it's going to affect him.

Prior to exiting the game, Assad had racked up five strikeouts and allowed two runs. During his first start a week prior, he allowed one run in 3.1 innings.

The Cubs were counting on a timely return for Assad since their pitching depth has been tested in the early portion of the season.

Left-handed ace Justin Steele is out for the entire campaign after undergoing elbow surgery. That puts a rotation that already entered the year looking thin into the danger zone.

Whether or not Assad was going to slot right back in as a starter is not known, but with issues both in the bullpen and rotation, he could have been used to open games or as a long reliever for a staff that is giving up a ton of runs.

He had a very strong 2024 showing during his 29 starts, pitching to a 3.73 ERA and striking out 124 batters over 147 innings.

While Assad was exclusively a starter last season, he was used both as a starter and a reliever during the 2023 campaign with 32 total appearances that included 10 starts.

That year was his most successful statistically with a 3.05 ERA and 1.226 WHIP, both marks which were the best of his career.

In all likelihood, the plan for Assad would probably look something like it did in 2023 with both groups in need of some serious help.

However, his return could be pushed back because of this reaggravation as Chicago figures out what exactly is plauging him.