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Cubs Starter Jameson Taillon Says He's Not Worried About Disastrous Rehab Start

Originally posted on Chicago Cubs on SI | By Brad Wakai | Last updated Aug 5, 2025 10:30 AM ET

In the wake of the Michael Soroka injury news, the Chicago Cubs are relying on Jameson Taillon to come back from his calf strain and be an effective pitcher for them going forward.

Up to the point where he was placed on the injured list on July 4, he hadn't quite provided that with a 4.44 ERA and ERA+ that was 14 points below the league average of 100 across 17 starts.

However, the Cubs need starting pitching, and the veteran right-hander's impending return offers a glimmer of hope that their rotation will at least be stabilized for the stretch run.

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But that hope turned to worry amongst the fanbase after they saw the results of Taillon's first rehab start.

Pitching with Triple-A Iowa this past Sunday, Taillon was shelled for seven earned runs on seven hits, with two of them being homers. In three innings, he only struck out one batter while hitting two, which was about as disastrous of an outing as he could have had.

Taillon unfazed by disastrous outing

Taillon isn't worried about what occurred, though.

He was focused on making sure he stayed healthy during his first game action in a month, which is exactly what happened.

"I actually felt pretty good," he said, per Maddie Lee of The Chicago Sun-Times. "Thought the delivery was good, calf was good ... But the first one, it's more important to just check the box, make sure we're healthy, get back into the flow of it."

That, at least, is a positive.

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Taillon has been a hard player to figure out since he arrived in Chicago on a four-year, $68 million deal ahead of the 2023 campaign, pitching to a below average level during his first season before being 21 points better than the league average in ERA+ during his second.

There was hope that he'd build off of what he did last year and carry that over into 2025, but he struggled when he was on the mound before picking up his calf injury. Because of that, it's hard to believe Taillon can be a key part of this rotation going forward.

While he's largely been a solid to above average starter throughout his career, his time with the Cubs has provided his biggest struggles.

Still, there's no doubt that Taillon's impending return is one of the only true boons that will come for this pitching staff in the near future, meaning they need him to get sharp in a hurry while on this rehab stint.

That's exactly what he's aiming to do in his outing.

"Now it's time to flip out of that rehab mode, back into compete mode," Taillon stated.

He's scheduled to throw a bullpen session in Chicago on Wednesday before making his second start with Iowa on Friday.

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This article first appeared on Chicago Cubs on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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