After battling nerve irritation and a rocky rehab stint, the young southpaw returns to the 40-man roster but remains in the minors to refine his command and consistency.
Time was ticking for the Chicago Cubs to make a decision regarding Jordan Wicks.
Wicks was nearing the end of his 30-day rehab assignment down at Triple-A Iowa. The left-hander started the season on the 15-day injured list due to a left forearm radial nerve irritation and was sent on a rehab assignment back on April 18.
Considering pitchers can spend no more than 30 days on their rehab assignments, the Cubs had to either promote him to the active roster or keep him down in the Minors in the coming days.
Well, that decision came prior to Saturday’s game against the Chicago White Sox. The Cubs officially activated Wicks from the 15-day IL and immediately optioned him to Iowa.
The 26-year-old was very up-and-down across his six rehab assignment starts at Triple-A. He had a 5.48 ERA, a 1.78 WHIP, and 18 strikeouts across 21 ⅓ innings pitched and allowed six runs in two different starts against Triple-A St. Paul.
But outside of those two outings, Wicks showed some encouraging things on the mound. He tossed four scoreless innings with four strikeouts in a start on May 9 and threw six innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts in his most recent appearance on Friday.
Wicks’ recent outing against Nashville was easily his best of the year. He controlled the strike zone, struck out a season-high six batters, and completed six innings for the first time this season.
The southpaw will now continue to be stretched out as a starter down in Triple-A. He gives the Cubs some starter depth in the Minors, and Wicks could definitely use the extra outings in Iowa as he continues to develop on the mound.
The former first-round pick hasn’t exactly pitched well in his limited Major League innings in his career. He had a 4.41 ERA across seven starts in 2024, had a 5.48 ERA in 11 appearances (10 starts) in 2024, and finished with a 6.28 ERA in eight appearances in 2025.
Allowing Wicks to get more reps at Triple-A is the right move by the Cubs. The left-hander allowed 10 earned runs in 14 ⅓ relief innings in 2025, and failed to miss many bats with a 23.8% whiff rate and a 19.4% strikeout rate.
Wicks will get another shot to show his potential in the big leagues. For now, though, he’s better off continuing to develop in the Minors.