Chicago Cubs Starter To Rejoin Team Wednesday

The Chicago Cubs got some encouraging news Monday night. Jameson Taillon is set to rejoin the ball club on Wednesday to start against the Atlanta Braves. Taillon had been on the injured list with a groin injury and hadn’t made an appearance since August 24. The groin injury marked the 33-year-old veteran’s third stint on the IL in 2025. Both Taillon and the Chicago Cubs are hoping that it will be his last.

With the regular season winding down, the hope is that Taillon can not only stay healthy but also get back into a sense of rhythm before the Chicago Cubs are playing baseball in October. Taillon figures to play a big role on the pitching staff in the postseason. The more comfortable he can get in the last three weeks of the regular season, the better for Craig Counsell and the Cubs. The front office has not announced any corresponding moves to make room for Taillon on the active roster.

Jameson Taillon To Return Wednesday

The Chicago Cubs have had to deal with absences in their starting rotation this season, but as October quickly approaches, getting as healthy as possible is a huge focus for them. The Cubs got some good news Monday night on that front when Taylor McGregor reported that Taillon is expected to rejoin the team on Wednesday to start their series finale in Atlanta against the Braves. Taillon has been out since August 24 with a left groin injury.

The Chicago Cubs are hoping that this latest injury is the last for Taillon in 2025. He will be coming off the injured list for the third time this season. Taillon started the year on the injured list with an oblique injury he suffered in spring training. He debuted early in the year and performed well before heading to the IL with a calf injury in late July. He missed over a month before making his way back to the mound, where he made just two starts before heading back to the shelf with a left groin injury. Now, after making one rehab start at AAA Iowa, Taillon is ready to rejoin the major league club.

Getting Taillon back at this juncture is huge for the Chicago Cubs. Taillon should be able to make four or five starts before the end of the regular season to ramp back up for the postseason. So far in 2025, Taillon is 9-6 with a 4.15 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 106.1 innings of work across 19 starts. For his career, Taillon is 80-59 with a 3.92 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in 1213.2 innings across 220 appearances in nine seasons with three different teams. Taillon is hoping to appear in October for the Chicago Cubs for the first time this fall.

Fitting Taillon Into the Starting Rotation

Taillon will have a slot in the rotation. The question is whether he will be replacing Javier Assad or adding to him. Assad stepped up when Taillon went down and has pitched well. With two pitchers who have far exceeded their 2024 workload already in Cade Horton and Matthew Boyd, and a questionable health situation with Taillon, Counsell and the front office may decide to stretch the rotation to six pitchers for the remainder of the regular season.

The Chicago Cubs could end up going with a six-man rotation for the final weeks of the regular season based on the status of their pitching staff and the team’s spot in the standings. Their seed in the postseason is fairly secure. The Cubs are 7.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central, and 2.5 games clear of every team in the NL Wild Card race, 8.5 games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds, who are the first team out of the race as the standings sit today. Maintaining health could supersede anything else down the stretch of the season as the Cubs look to position themselves as well as possible for the postseason.