Cubs 'biggest regret' involves risky rotation plan amid Cade Horton news
Cubs 'biggest regret' involves risky rotation plan amid Cade Horton news originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Chicago Cubs are in last place in the NL Central through the first two weeks of the regular season, though they're 6-6 and only two games behind first place.
It's too early to panic about the Cubs in the division standings, but there is a real reason to panic about the future of the team. Following Cade Horton 's season-ending injury news, the Cubs rotation looks to be falling apart.
Their high-ceiling, low-floor rotation was a big risk, and as Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report points out, this risky plan might be the Cubs' "biggest regret" from this past offseason amid the Horton news and the other rotation issues affecting the team already.
Cubs' risky rotation plan already coming back to bite them
"Chicago Cubs: Rolling the dice on too many starters," Kelly writes. "The rotation that the Cubs entered the season with - Matthew Boyd , Cade Horton, Shota Imanaga , Edward Cabrera , and Jameson Taillon - had a high ceiling but also a low floor."
Unfortunately for the Cubs, their risky rotation looks to be headed towards an end-of-season result closer to that low floor than the high ceiling.
Horton is done for the season after just two starts, one of which went one inning. That's not all, Boyd is also on the injured list, though his strained left biceps fortunately doesn't seem to be a long-term problem.
Imanaga, on the other hand, is struggling a bit. He has a 4.50 ERA this season in two starts, and hasn't been as good as he was when he initially came to the Majors.
Taillon has a 2.53 ERA this season and has looked fine, while Javier Assad went 5.2 scoreless innings in his season debut as a fill-in starter. Colin Rea has been a solid pitcher as well, going 11.1 innings with a 3.18 ERA and 10 strikeouts.
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But the Cubs' best pitcher is Edward Cabrera, a 27-year-old righty they acquired from the Miami Marlins for Owen Caissie , who's had injury issues before, but so far, has a 0.00 ERA with nine strikeouts in two starts spanning 11.2 innings pitched.
If it weren't for the Horton season-ending injury, and Boyd's issue to go with Imanaga's struggles, this rotation might've been closer to its potential high ceiling.
While Kelly calls the Cubs' starting rotation plan their "biggest regret," it's not something the Cubs can truly feel regret over.
If it weren't for bad luck when it came to injuries, at least through the first two weeks of the. year, their starting rotation would've looked like one of the best in baseball.
Sure, it was a risk. And it hasn't gone well at all with the Horton injury and Boyd's issue as well. But the concept wasn't a bad idea; the Cubs, simply, just got some bad luck.
