Chicago Cubs fans react to Jameson Taillon going on IL with groin strain just before scheduled start: "Why does this keep happening?"
Just hours before a Thursday night start against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Chicago Cubs placed Jameson Taillon on the 15-day injured list with what was described as a "mild-to-moderate" left groin strain.
The Cubs quickly scrambled to call up pitcher Javier Assad from Triple-A Iowa to make Taillon's start at Wrigley Field.
Assad has made 11 appearances with the Cubs over the 2022 and 2023 seasons. He started eight games and relieved in one in 2022, going 2-2 with a 3.11 ERA. However, in his two relief appearances this season, he is 0-1 with a 12.46 ERA in 4 1/3 innings.
Jameson Taillon has been placed on the 15-day IL with "mild to moderate" left groin strain, per @MLBastian. https://t.co/Laarvu4hsq
Jameson Taillon came to the Chicago Cubs as a free agent in the offseason after two campaigns with the New York Yankees and four with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Cubs inked him to a four-year, $68 million deal in order to bolster their starting rotation.
In the early returns, Taillon is showing to be a shaky investment. He would have carried an 0-2 record and 7.00 ERA into Thursday's game had he pitched.
However, after giving up three earned runs in four innings to the Milwaukee Brewers on April 2 and four earned runs in five innings against the Texas Rangers on April 9, he pitched well at Dodger Stadium on April 15.
The Cubs lost to the Dodgers 2-1 in that game – their lone loss of a just-completed six-game road trip – but Taillon scattered two hits and two walks over five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts.
Now, Chicago will likely have to fill his spot in the rotation for at least the next couple of weeks. There is no immediate word on whether Taillon's IL stint will be made retroactive, nor is there a timetable for his return yet.
@BleacherNation Yet another tale of “you can never have too much pitching”
Kyle Hendricks 2.0 May prove more important than ever. Let’s hope he’s his old self when he does come back
@MLBONFOX @MLBastian He can have my balls
@NBCSCubs Here we go, last season every single Cubs starter was on the IL, some more than once along with several relievers. Injuries have become endemic amongst starters, way more than in the days of pitching 300 innings and numerous complete games. Why does this keep happening ?
Damn Jameson Taillon to the injured list.
Now Javier Assad gets the Dodgers tonight.
Tough blow. #NextStartsHere
Jameson Taillon got scratched for Javier Asaad .. great
Another lucky break for the #Dodgers avoiding a good starting pitcher first Max Scherzer gets tossed for no good reason now Jameson Taillon goes on the DL just before his start. #Cubs #MLB
Assad gets first crack at the spot, but given he has only started one game for Iowa this season, he may not be the long-term choice.
@BleacherNation Probably going to be a bullpen game. Hopefully he can limit any bad damage in the first couple of innings. If he can make it through 5 innings it would be great and then the bullpen can finish up. This is his opportunity to make a good showing so I hope he can do the job
@BleacherNation Was it Assad that shut down Puerto Rico in the WBC? If so, i like him against the pads 😂
@BleacherNation Not worth watching. Blow out incoming, cant tell me nothing better In the minors
Plaque psoriasis may have you at the dentist's office for several hours, but likely nothing that would keep an MLB pitcher from making a start.
@MLBONFOX @MLBastian reading "mild to moderate" had me thinking it was plaque psoriasis
Jameson Taillon was to bring durability to Chicago Cubs' staff
While Jameson Taillon is not staff ace material, he was signed to lend stability and durability to the Chicago Cubs starting staff. He has started at least 25 games in four of his previous six seasons. The only two seasons he didn't hit that mark were his rookie year of 2016 (18 starts) and the pandemic-shortened campaign of 2020 (seven starts).