Cubs Starting Rotation Nightmare Just Got Even Worse

The Chicago Cubs took yet another hit to their starting rotation this week.

Serious injuries to Justin Steele and Cade Horton have plagued Chicago over the last few seasons, and they continue to loom large as we look toward 2027, with Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga, Kevin Gausman, and Clay Holmes all currently free agents.

The Cubs' starting rotation already needed work. The current crop of arms was already unreliable, and now right-handed pitcher Ben Brown has suffered another serious injury setback.

Brown showed off his full potential in 2026. Over 68 innings, he went 4-2 with a 1.85 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, and a .186 batting average against.

The issue for the Cubs was keeping him on the field. Brown didn't pitch after June 19 after being placed on the injured list with a neck strain.

By August, Brown needed to be transferred to the 60-day IL with that neck injury. And while the initial hope was for him to hit the ground running in 2027 and potentially be an anchor of the Cubs' starting rotation, it doesn't appear that's in the cards.

Earlier this week, Brown underwent cervical spine surgery, according to an initial report from ESPN's Jesse Rogers. It won't be until after the new year that Brown is cleared to throw, and the organization is holding out hope that he can be ready at some point in the first half of the 2027 season.

That means the Cubs will begin the year without Ben Brown available. And as they've seen with pitchers like Justin Steele in the recent past, they can no longer bank on Brown to contribute to the team at all.

Steele hasn't pitched since April 2025. Cade Horton is going to miss the entire year as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. Edward Cabrera dealt with injuries of his own and had a 5.96 ERA over 80 innings in 2026.

Not only is the starting rotation an area of need for the Cubs, but as things currently stand, I'm not sure Chicago would even be able to field a starting rotation.

Jed Hoyer has his work cut out for him. There was already work to do, but an injury to Ben Brown lingering into 2027 only makes it more apparent why Chicago needs to be one of, if not the most active team in all of free agency this winter when it comes to bringing in pitching.

If not, it'll be another season of futilely chasing the Milwaukee Brewers and wasting one of the best offenses in the sport.