Three Former Cubs Pitchers Return To Wrigley As Padres For Wild Card Series

The Cubs' starting pitching rotation has had its fair share of injuries. Justin Steele went down early in the season. James Taillon, Shota Imanaga, and even newly acquired Mike Soroka have all spent time on the disabled list.

Chicago is no stranger to seeing their pitchers come and go. Starting pitcher and rookie Cade Horton is on the IL and won't be available until late in the next playoff series should the Cubs advance. They have used almost a dozen different starters to plug holes that the IL took their players for extended periods of time.

Three pitchers on the Padres roster are returning to Wrigley, so it will be a sense of homecoming for them. Here's a look at these players for San Diego who were a member of the Chicago Cubs prior.

Yu Darvish

The Japanese-born pitcher played three seasons for Chicago. In fact, the last time Yu Darvish wore a Cubs uniform was the last year that the team made the playoffs (2020). One of the more notable players Chicago got back in the return for Darvish was outfielder Owen Caissie.

In 2018, Darvish's season was cut short due to injury, a familiar story for other pitchers like Steele. After signing a six-year deal to joining the Cubs, the starting pitcher only played eight games and recorded 40 innings before being shut down.

A year later, control issues became a theme for Darvish. Despite racking up 225 strikeouts in 31 starts, he gave up the most home runs in the NL (33), the second-most wild pitches (11), and hit the third-most batters in the NL (11).

It was in Game 2 of the 2020 MLB Playoffs during the NL Wild Card Round against the Miami Marlins that Darvish took the mound. Not only was it the last time he played for the Cubs, but it was also the last time Chicago had been to the postseason, until now.

With San Diego, Darvish has gone 44-37 in five seasons. He has not pitched against the Cubs this year as he was out during both series against Chicago.

Jeremiah Estrada

Selected in the sixth round of the 2017 MLB Draft, Jeremiah Estrada became a Chicago Cub. He did not make his debut, however, until late summer in the 2022 season.

One of the reasons that delayed him breaking into the big leagues was Tommy John surgery. The 26-year-old relief pitcher only appeared in 17 games for the Cubs before being released two years ago.

San Diego scooped up Estrada and he has averaged 100 strikeouts in the past two seasons since joining the Padres. Estrada has also recorded 47 holds with his current team.

In the three games the former Cubs pitcher has faced Chicago this season, the Padres won two of them, with the one loss being a 2-1 defeat in extra innings. Estrada recorded six strikeouts in just three innings pitched this season against the NL Wild Card leaders.

Dylan Cease

Just like Estrada, Dylan Cease also had Tommy John surgery before debuting in MLB. Drafted by the Chicago Cubs, he was a part of the Jose Quintana trade with the White Sox.

Last year, in his first season with the Padres, Cease had a no-hitter against the Washington Nationals. He is now the fifth pitcher ever to record more than 200 strikeouts in five consecutive seasons.

The Cubs will face Nick Pivetta on Tuesday in Game 1 at Wrigley Field. With Padres pitcher Nestor Cortes on the DL, Cease will be called up to start in Game 2, and Darvish gets the nod in Game 3 (if necessary). In the meantime, Chicago sends up Matthew Boyd for Game 1 and will announce their Game 2 starter following the result.