Cubs Debuts Finally Planned for Both Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes

The Chicago Cubs will not have to wait long to see their newest faces in action.

Ahead of the team's series finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers – where they will go for a satisfying sweep – fans got some clarity on when their two biggest trade deadline acquisitions will take the mound. Kevin Gausman will be the first to make his Cubbies debut, taking the field for Friday's opener against the Kansas City Royals on the road, per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune.

Gausman was the Cubs' first deadline acquisition, coming to the team on August 2 for prospects Ty Southisene and Brett Bateman. His last start was on August 1, when the 35-year-old gave up a single run in 5.2 innings of work against the Cardinals.

While he was able to limit the damage, Gausman did give up nine hits on the day, which is something the Cubs are hoping he can clean up. His 4.38 ERA is significantly higher than in years past, but many advanced stats suggest that his stuff remains very much the same. Perhaps a change of scenery will help him tweak the small things necessary. Nevertheless, the playoff production and experience are what make Gausman such a fascinating pick-up.

Following Gausman's debut will be that of Clay Holmes. The former Mets arm was one of the highest-profile names available at the deadline, despite his long stint on the IL. Holmes has not pitched since May 15 due to a fractured fibula. He has since made three rehab starts, with his last being on August 2. Holmes went 5.1 innings in High-A and allowed 3 earned runs.

The Cubs have apparently seen enough to believe that Holmes is ready to make his highly anticipated return. Assuming all goes well with a bullpen session on Wednesday, the plan is for Holmes to start on Saturday in Kansas City, per Montemurro.

Holmes has held a 2.39 ERA in his limited action this year. The small sample size, however, is encouraging after he posted a 3.53 ERA in 2025 in 33 appearances. An elite ground ball pitcher, there is a strong belief that Holmes can turn into one of Chicago's top arms over the next handful of weeks thanks to their fantastic interior defense.

So ... what does this mean for the rest of the rotation?

As discussed earlier this week, chances are that we see Javier Assad AND Colin Rea move into the bullpen. There will then be questions about what the Cubs should do when Edward Cabrera is healthy. Acquired this last offseason, Cabrera has struggled to produce the results the Chicago wanted. Will they continue to give him a long leash or perhaps plan to also throw him into the pen?

Ryan Zeferjahn's Perfect Cubs Debut

Jun 20, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels pitcher Ryan Zeferjahn (56) during the seventh inning against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

For what it's worth, the Cubs gave reliever Ryan Zeferjahn his first go during Tuesday's high-stakes game. The former Angels reliever came in at the top of the 8th with the Cubs up 4-1. He proceeded to throw a 97.1 mph first strike before forcing Tommy Edman to ground out on the next pitch.

Pinch hitter Alex Call would quickly fall down 2-0 and eventually send a pop-up toward the Cubs dugout that Pedro Ramírez impressively snagged. The real test, however, was the third batter Zeferjahn faced. Shohei Ohtani stepped up and watched a sweeper drop into the dirt. Then, Zeferjahn threw his best pitch of the night to make Ohtani look silly.

Ryan Zeferjahn is filthy pic.twitter.com/pAlwCJwvS5
— Pete Crow-Armstrong Fan Club (@PCA4FC) August 5, 2026

The 4x MVP would fly out to left field on the next pitch.

Overall, Zeferjahn needed just nine pitches to pull off a 1-2-3 inning. And seven of those went down as strikes! Obviously, Zeferjahn still has a lot to prove in a Cubs uniform, but you can't ask for a much better start than that.

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