Cubs Are Expected To Be Without Ben Brown For A While

The Chicago Cubs are expected to be without starting pitcher Ben Brown for quite some time. 

Brown was placed on the 15-day injured list before Wednesday’s doubleheader due to a neck strain. It was unclear at that time what his timeline looked like, but it appears the Cubs will be without him for several weeks/months. 

Manager Craig Counsell went on 104.3 The Score on Thursday to discuss an array of topics, including Brown’s recent injury. Counsell said that the 26-year-old was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his neck and will not participate in much over the next month. 

It’s obviously not a great sign that Brown won’t be doing much baseball activities over the next month. This puts him out through the end of July, and potentially longer, as this is an injury he has dealt with before. 

Back in 2024, Brown went on the injured list in mid-June with a very similar stress reaction in his neck. The hope was that he would pitch again that year. Unfortunately, Brown missed the rest of that season and never returned. 

While that might not be the case this time, it is extremely concerning that Brown is suffering from another neck injury. This is the second time he has dealt with this issue in the span of three seasons. He is now seeking additional opinions from doctors on his neck. 

This injury comes at the worst possible time for Brown. He is in the midst of a breakout campaign. The 25-year-old has a 1.85 ERA, 0.941 WHIP, and 65 strikeouts across 68 innings pitched. He has been even more dominant since moving to the rotation in early May, with a 1.70 ERA and 41 strikeouts across eight starts. 

Brown actually dealt with this neck issue for a couple of starts before the team placed him on the 15-day IL. It first crept up in a start against the San Francisco Giants on June 13 and continued to bother him in his most recent outing against the Toronto Blue Jays last week. 

Brown, though, didn’t seem too affected by it in that start against the Blue Jays, as he threw six innings of two-run ball with four strikeouts. 

Right now, there is no clear timeline on when Brown could return. This is a very serious injury, and one that has already sidelined him for multiple months before. There is a chance he returns in August/September, but he may also miss the rest of the year.