Cubs Make Major Edward Cabrera Decision

Chicago Cubs right-handed pitchers Edward Cabrera and Ben Brown are on the mend and were throwing bullpens at Wrigley Field on Friday.

For Cabrera, he's doing it as he prepares to make a return from the IL.

According to a report from Taylor McGregor, the Cubs plan to bring Cabrera off the injured list and start him on Sunday against the St. Louis Cardinals. Shota Imanaga was originally scheduled to get that start against Hunter Dobbins in a game that will be nationally televised on ABC.

Any indication that the Chicago Cubs plan to use Edward Cabrera as a relief arm after returning him from the injured list is false. Cabrera will join the rotation and give the Cubs the ability to give starting pitchers additional rest between Cabrera, Kevin Gausman, Clay Holmes, David Peterson, Shota Imanaga, and Matthew Boyd.

The Cubs have a six-man rotation they can deploy without factoring in Colin Rea or Javier Assad in the multi-inning roles they can take up out of the bullpen.

It's a good strategy to preserve arms and keep everyone fresh rolling into the postseason.

Cabrera is certainly one who will need it. In 14 starts for the Cubs this year, Cabrera has a 5.10 ERA over 72.1 innings pitched. Injuries have been an issue for him his entire career, as he surpassed 100 innings pitched just once with the Miami Marlins. That came in 2025, and the Cubs acquired Cabrera at the peak of his value.

He hasn't lived up to that blockbuster trade thus far, but his performance in the minor leagues shows that the arm talent is very real and could still help the Cubs down the stretch.

Combining his last two rehab starts, Cabrera pitched nine innings with one hit, zero earned runs, and 15 strikeouts for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs and the Double-A Knoxville Smokies. His highest pitch count in a rehab start is 64, so I wouldn't be surprised to see the Cubs ease him in on a hard pitch count before turning to one of their long relief options.

Even if it's in a limited capacity for now, it's good to see Cabrera returning to the Cubs. At his best, he figures to be part of the postseason starting rotation, and even in the short term, the Cubs need all hands on deck needed if they're gonna run down the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central.