Starting pitching was already a need for the Chicago Cubs as the MLB trade deadline approaches. That has only increased with Jameson Tallion going on the 15-day injured list with a right calf strain.
Tallion, 33, will likely be out for longer than those 15 days. The team expects the veteran pitcher to miss “more than a month,” according to Cubs manager Craig Counsell. The injury occurred while Tallion was running after throwing a bullpen session on Thursday.
With 17 starts this season, Tallion was tied for the team lead with Matthew Boyd. He’s compiled a 4.44 ERA with 75 strikeouts in 95 1/3 innings. His 22 home runs allowed are second among MLB starting pitchers.
The Cubs called up Jordan Wicks from Triple-A Iowa to take Tallion’s spot on the roster. In 12 appearances (11 starts), Wicks has a 4.06 ERA with 46 strikeouts in 44 1/3 innings. In his past five starts, Wicks has a 1.65 ERA. Yet he will pitch out of the bullpen, according to Counsell.
Wicks, 25, was with the Cubs earlier this season, making two relief appearances. He allowed three runs in two innings, leaving him with a 13.50 ERA.
Tallion’s next turn in the rotation was scheduled for Saturday, but the Cubs will pitch that as a bullpen game with the opener to be announced.
“These things happen,” Counsell told reporters on Friday. “You have to, as an organization, be prepared for the next step, the next solution. And that’s where we’ll be.”
“There’s a little room for us to be flexible right now,” he added, “and we’ll use that to our advantage and go from there.”
While the Cubs are pursuing starting pitchers before the July 31 MLB trade deadline, Counsell has immediate needs to address. One possibility will be stretching out reliever Chris Flexen, who has pitched as a starter for most of his eight-year career.
“He is a candidate to be stretched out, for sure,” Counsell said, via the Chicago Sun-Times. “He’s prepared, at this point, to do a little bit more… He threw 160 innings as a major-league starter last year and he’s done it multiple times in his career.”
On June 27, Flexen pitched four innings of relief in a 7-4 loss to the Houston Astros, throwing 50 pitches in the outing.
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