The Chicago Cubs have led a charmed 2025 baseball life when it comes to their position players, with only catcher Miguel Amaya suffering significant down time due to injury.
Their starting pitching, on the other hand, has suffered bad break after break with a season-ending injury to ace Justin Steele, a season-stalling injury to Javier Assad, and IL stints for both Shota Imanaga and Jameson Taillon.
The one thing you can count on in baseball is that baseball is utterly unpredictable, especially over the course of a grueling 162-game season.
In a recent Q&A with The Athletic, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer talked abut his hope for the best, prepare for the worst philosophy when it comes to keeping ahead of baseball’s unpredictability– a mindset that could be of utmost importance for what’s shaping up to be a special 2025.
“[Manager Craig] Counsell and I talk about that all the time,” Hoyer said. “That is a big part of the job, trying to see around corners. It’s not a great way to go through life, thinking about what could go wrong. But at the same time, you have to think about: ‘With these two injuries, what would we do in this situation?’ Because that is the nature of baseball. The best-case scenario doesn’t often happen.”
With that in mind, here’s a look at possible contingency plans for five full-on Cubs disasters:
Pete Crow-Armstrong goes down
One shudders to even bring something like this up. The 23-year-old PCA has been THAT essential to a raging Cubs offense and to the overall excitement of the season. But injuries happen and anyone who plays as hard as he does will always be one bad step away from bad things.
So, how do you replace a guy with true 40-40 potential and an elite glove? You don’t. The best you could hope for is to plug the hole and for the rest of the team to boost their game a bit to compensate for the loss.
A trade deadline acquisition could be in the cards if the injury were to happen before July 31. Even without a PCA injury, though, the Cubs would be wise to pick up a fourth outfielder at the deadline. Former Cub and current crosstown White Sox outfielder Mike Tauchman has been mentioned before as a low-cost backup outfielder.
Prospect Kevin Alcantara could also be brought up, if he isn’t traded by the deadline. Alcantara has played center field before and has the athleticism to do well in the spot.
Granted, Alcantara/Tauchman is not much of a contingency plan for the loss of Crow-Armstrong, but barring some sort of blockbuster trade for a CF rental, that’s about the best the Cubs would be able to do for such a monumental loss.
Daniel Palencia falters
The 25-year-old Palencia has been a beyond-pleasant surprise this year, stepping in to win the closer role and answering one of the Cubs’ biggest questions leading into the 2025 campaign.
But the reality is that he’s never had this level of major league success before and is completely new to the closer role at this level. There’s always a chance that a young pitcher could falter and wilt under the pressure later in the season and, especially, in the heat of a pennant race.
The Cubs are reportedly exploring the acquisition of a co-closer via trade, but that may not be a realistic pickup given their much more pressing need for starting pitching.
In house, the Cubs would probably give the 36-year-old Ryan Pressly another go in the closer role. Somewhat stale performances and an 8-earned run early-May thrashing cost him the gig, but he’s posted a 1.26 ERA since that disastrous outing and has slowly moved his way back into the Craig Counsell circle of trust. He’s still not blowing anyone away in his appearances, but he has the experience to get a second crack at the closer gig, albeit with a short leash and a closer-by-committee plan C behind him.
A Kyle Tucker injury
The backup plan to losing Tucker is probably an obvious one. Seiya Suzuki would move back into right field. The designated hitter slot would then be filled by a rotating crew of position players given an off day from their field duties. Bat-heavy prospects like Moises Ballesteros or Jonathon Long could also be brought up.
You wouldn’t really be able to replace an offensive linchpin like Tucker at the trade deadline, but the Cubs could pick up a solid corner outfielder on the cheap to fill the roster spot. This is all working under the assumption, of course, that top prospect Owen Caissie will be traded at the deadline and not available for a call-up.
Another starting rotation loss
If the Cubs lost Matthew Boyd or Shota Imanaga (again), they’d be in a deep, deep mess, even if they do trade for a front-of-rotation starter by July 31.
The Cubs would cross their fingers that Javier Assad makes it back and can immediately contribute come mid-August. Other than that, the best they’d be able to muster would be a Triple-A call-up that far exceeds expectations or a starter-possible reliever stepping up, like Chris Flexen, Drew Pomeranz, or Brad Keller.
Losing Michael Busch
Busch has been excellent this year, both offensively and defensively, even though his accomplishments have been overshadowed to a great degree by PCA and Tucker. But his absence would be deeply felt if he were to fall to injury.
Iowa Cub Jonathon Long would probably be called up and given a shot at first base. Bat-first Moises Ballesteros could also get the call.
Among those on the 26-man roster right now, only Justin Turner and Jon Berti can really play the position, but neither is a long-term solution.
Any of these Cubs disasters would mean bad things for the team’s shot at making a deep postseason run this year. None, however, would be instant death sentences as long as the team maintains its resilience and the coaching staff/front office keeps making smart moves.
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1 Comment
Pressly isn’t going to blow anybody away? Why? Because he doesn’t have a 100mph fastball? He has pitched great since the early May debacle. He has the experience in the post-season and pitches well under pressure. He is the obvious answer to take over the closer role if needed. Starters are dropping like flies and Hodge & Keller are no longer options to be the closer. Keller probably just needs some rest & hopefully Hodge will get healthy & return to form. Starting pitching is the bigger need for the Cubs.