Cubs get much-needed comeback win as injuries start to come for the bullpen

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Dansby Swanson had two brilliant baserunning plays, including tagging up from third on an infield fly when the second baseman fell to the ground upon catching the ball. Michael Busch snapped a 0-for-30 skid with a pinch-hit RBI single. Swanson’s second heads-up baserunning play also happened on that hit when he scored the tying run on a Pirates error. Jameson Taillon gave up six runs, including a wind-aided grand slam. But he was able to get through six innings and not push a bullpen that is far from full strength. After losing the first two games of the series, the victory felt much-needed. But the news the Cubs got before the game is probably what’s most impactful going forward this season. After losing two key members of the starting staff, Cade Horton for the season and Matthew Boyd for at least two weeks, Chicago’s injury bug has now migrated to its relievers. Two days after Phil Maton hit the shelf, the bullpen suffered its second significant blow of the weekend when the team placed righty Hunter Harvey on the 15-day injured list with a strained right triceps. “After he pitched in Cleveland on Friday, he had four days off,” Counsell said. “He pitched in Tampa the last day. As we got into yesterday, he just wasn’t recovering well. It’s trying to get stuff before it gets too bad here. Hopefully it’s just a little bit of soreness in the triceps and we can get rid of it in two to three weeks and move on.” Harvey has a long injury history. A triceps strain once landed him on the 60-day IL early in his career. He was limited to just 10 2/3 innings last season due to a shoulder injury and then a late-season groin issue. He had back issues that dogged him in 2024. Before that, there were lat, shoulder, forearm, pronator and oblique injuries. Harvey underwent Tommy John surgery as a prospect in 2015. “That rules into trying to be conservative here, absolutely,” Counsell said of Harvey’s injury history. “The way he was recovering and the usage, it just sent up some red flags. We’ve gotta be careful here and push pause.” The Cubs were well aware they were taking a risk on Harvey when they signed him to a one-year, $6 million deal this past winter. They were also aware of the type of upside Harvey can bring to the table. When healthy, Harvey has an upper-90s fastball that he pairs with a nasty splitter. In 2022 and 2023, Havey averaged 98.3 mph with his four-seamer and combined for a 2.70 ERA in 100 innings. He had a 28.6 percent strikeout rate with a strong 6.4 percent walk rate over that span. That was the type of reliever the Cubs were hoping to get this season. Last summer, his fastball velocity dipped to 96.1 mph. Early this season, it’s been at 96.7 mph. Maton went on the IL Friday with right knee tendinitis. The righty was signed to a two-year, $14.5 million deal in the offseason. Multi-year deals for relievers are a rarity for this Cubs front office, but they identified Maton as a consistent reliever who could miss bats and help stabilize the bullpen as a veteran who could work high-leverage moments. His injury isn’t seen as serious just yet, and unlike Harvey, doesn’t have a lengthy history. Counsell is now faced with the challenge of losing two of the three relievers he’d planned to use in high-leverage moments. “Injuries are a reality of the game,” Counsell said. “They’re gonna happen. You do your best from a medical perspective to mitigate risk. Sometimes you take risks on injuries because that’s how you get the player. There’s a little bit of everything in there. Is there some bad luck involved? Yeah, probably a little bit of bad luck.” Harvey certainly falls into the category of a player the Cubs took a risk on. They’ve been careful with how they’ve handled Harvey and tried to avoid pushing him, especially early. One thing Counsell made clear is that bullpens are notoriously fickle. Trying to predict the makeup of a relief group in September based on what’s happening in April is foolish. “If you look at what the bullpen looked like on the 2025 team at this time of the year, it looked a lot different than it did at the end of the season,” Counsell said. “It’s all part of the season of major-league bullpens.” Among the names on the team’s Opening Day roster last season were Ryan Pressley, Nate Pearson, Julian Merryweather, Ryan Brasier, Tyson Miller, Porter Hodge and Eli Morgan. None would end up being key contributors for a bullpen that turned into a rather strong unit by the season’s second half. Unfortunately, there is no obvious Brad Keller-type who could emerge. Keller looked impressive last spring and carried that out for much of last season. He parlayed 2.07 ERA in 69 2/3 innings into a two-year, $22-million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies over the winter. The Cubs were interested in a reunion with Keller, but ultimately bowed out. Trying to find the next Keller was never going to be easy. Two names the Cubs hoped could emerge this spring were Collin Snider and Corbin Martin. Martin, who couldn’t maintain the type of velocity the organization had hoped to see in the spring, logged just one inning at Triple A before hitting the IL with back tightness. He was activated from the IL on Sunday. A small tweak to his delivery helped Snider find a couple more ticks with his fastball this spring after it had dipped last season. He had a breakout 2024 campaign with the Seattle Mariners, when he posted a 1.94 ERA with a strikeout rate pushing 28 percent. In 6 2/3 Triple A innings this season, he has a 9.45 ERA with a 21.2 percent strikeout rate. Lefty Ryan Rolison looked like someone with potential in the spring with added velocity and a more robust arsenal. He has a 3.68 ERA in 7 1/3 innings and his strikeout rate is impressive (29.7 percent). But he’s clearly still learning how to command his new repertoire and will have to reduce the 16.2 percent walk rate before he’s deemed ready. Hodge, who has always had the stuff and had a brilliant 2024 campaign with the team, is still working his way back from injury. The Cubs believe Trent Thornton will help the bullpen at some point this season, but the veteran is still recovering from the Achilles tear he suffered last season and hasn’t been activated from the Triple A IL yet. But on Sunday, two names who weren’t on many radars kept the Cubs in the game. Lefty Riley Martin worked 1 1/3 scoreless, and Ethan Roberts gave the team 2/3 of an inning, bridging the gap to closer Daniel Palencia as the Cubs were able to squeak out a win. Those are the types of unexpected performances the Cubs will need in order to overcome injuries. “We’ve lost kind of three members of the Opening Day bullpen,” Counsell said, referring to the two injuries and Colin Rea moving to the rotation. “That means people are going to be put in different spots. There’s going to be opportunity for guys. Big opportunities for guys. Someone’s gonna take it.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Sahadev Sharma is a staff writer for The Athletic and covers the Chicago Cubs. Previously, Sahadev was a national baseball writer for Baseball Prospectus and ESPN Chicago. Follow Sahadev on Twitter @sahadevsharma