Chicago Cubs Flamethrower Faces Possible Role Change

The Chicago Cubs have been able to weather the storm of injuries to their starting rotation so far in 2025. Justin Steele is out for the season with an elbow injury. Javier Assad has yet to debut this season due to an oblique injury. Shota Imanaga is out with a hamstring injury and does not have a timetable to make his return. The Cubs have called on Colin Rea and Cade Horton to pick up the slack. They have done an admirable job.

The performance of another starting pitcher, Ben Brown, has been troubling. Brown has struggled to find a consistent rhythm on the mound in his first full season as a starter for the Chicago Cubs. After bouncing between the starting rotation and the bullpen in 2024 before being injured, Brown was supposed to ascend this season to become a prominent starting pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. His inconsistency has led to conversations about moving Brown back to the bullpen and seeing if he may be a better fit as a reliever for a team trying to make a run at the NL pennant this fall.

Ben Brown’s Role Uncertain For Chicago Cubs

Ben Brown came to the big leagues last season as a highly-touted prospect for the Chicago Cubs. His upper-90s fastball and sweeping breaking ball made him intriguing enough for the Cubs to bring him up in 2024 and use him in many roles. Brown showed his potential and gave the team hope that he could be a productive member of their pitching staff for years. In his second year though his role on this pitching staff has come under fire. His inconsistency and tendency to leave ball games early have led to conversations starting about moving him back to the bullpen, a role he occupied for a portion of his rookie season.

Chicago Cubs Manager Craig Counsell isn’t entertaining the idea as of yet. When he was asked Friday if Brown is expected to remain part of the starting rotation, he said, ‘‘That’s the expectation, yes.” So far in 2025, Brown is 3-3 with a 5.72 ERA and 1.46 WHIP in 56.2 innings across 12 starts. Brown relies primarily on his electric two-pitch mix, a profile that lends itself to Brown becoming a solid reliever if the Chicago Cubs decide to make that change. With Shota Imanaga and Javier Assad slated to return later this season, Brown could be the odd man out in the rotation, especially with the success of Colin Rea and the emergence of Cade Horton.

Brown acknowledged his struggles when speaking to the media Friday, and emphasized his need to get off to a better start. “If you look at my first innings, just having those grind at-bats, not being there, not being locked in — whether mentally or physically — just not doing what I do best, that really sets me up for failure later in the game. The focus is really: ‘What’s going on in the first, and how do we adjust there?‘”

Brown continued, “I’m just getting so excited, so pumped up, I’m losing sight of what I do best. . . . Ultimately, I probably need to take a step back and let myself play. That’s tough for me because I’ve always been a guy — I just want to get on everything. But usually, when I go to an 11 out of 10 instead of 10 out of 10, I suck.’’ The numbers bear that out. In his starts this season he has a 9.90 ERA. To try and alleviate these problems, Counsell has gone with an opener in Brown’s recent starts, featuring Drew Pomeranz and Brad Keller.

Path Moving Forward

As Brown struggles to find his footing as a consistent starter, the Chicago Cubs have to consider a change. They currently sit atop the NL, five games clear of the St. Louis Cardinals in their division, and eyeing a deep postseason run in October. If they want to have the best chance to contend for the NL pennant, figuring out how to best utilize Brown would go a long way. Changing things up in early June may not be the solution, but if his ERA continues to balloon and Counsell needs to use openers and do other things to guide the 25-year-old hurler, it could be worth a shot.

Injuries have necessitated keeping Brown in the starting rotation until now. Colin Rea stepped up when Justin Steele went down for the year. Cade Horton has filled in admirably for Shota Imanaga and isn’t showing signs of slowing down. When Imanaga is ready to make his comeback or when Javier Assad is ready to make his 2025 debut, that could force Counsell and the Chicago Cubs’ hand in moving Brown to the bullpen. A role he thrived in for the 2024 season and a role he may need to succeed in if the Cubs want to make some noise come October.