Cubs Executive Has Demand for Pitchers After Shota Imanaga's Injury

Hoyer addressed the media, stating that the Cubs shouldn’t see a decrease in production at the mound and defensively, despite Imanaga’s injury. He also spoke of the pitching crew's demands.  

“I mean, no one is going to be Shota, but we have to have guys show up," Hoyer said. "You know, depth is getting challenged a little bit, but I still think we still have pretty good depth and options. We’ll have to have those guys step up, and I think Colin (Rea) has done a great job so far since (Justin) Steele out, obviously got to get him to step up with Shota out.” 

Matthew Boyd will start for the Cubs on Monday night against the Giants. The team will take it one day at a time until Imanaga returns fully healthy from injury. 

Rea has been a solid pitcher since Steele suffered a season-ending injury in the middle of April. The Cubs have won all four games Rea has started on the mound. Rea has accounted for an ERA of 1.86 in those four games while delivering 19 strikeouts and allowing only 16 hits, four runs, and one walk.  

Rea will be one of the top options for the Cubs on the mound for the rest of the season.