SAN FRANCISCO — Jameson Taillon wants to experience October baseball.
The Chicago Cubs veteran has pitched in only two postseason games in his career, both coming in 2022 as a New York Yankee. That big-picture vision on a player and team level, with a month left in the regular season, contributed to the Cubs’ decision to take the cautious route while Taillon works through a left groin strain that landed him on the 15-day injured list Wednesday before a 12-3 loss to the San Francisco Giants.
The Cubs recalled right-hander Javier Assad, who will start Saturday at Coors Field in Denver in Taillon’s spot. Taillon initially felt discomfort in his groin during the fifth inning of Sunday’s start in Anaheim, Calif., when he warmed up and notified Counsell and pitching coach Tommy Hottovy during the game. That “little something” continued to linger for the last three days.
Taillon threw about 13 pitches off the bullpen mound Wednesday at Oracle Park to test the groin. Although it went pretty well, the Cubs chose to play it safe and not risk a potentially more significant injury by allowing Taillon to pitch through it. They believe the groin issue will resolve itself within five to seven days, and having him start in three days would possibly compromise Taillon and lead to a more significant injury.
Manager Craig Counsell expects Taillon to spend the minimum time on the IL. He will be eligible to return Sept. 9. Taillon plans on throwing to keep his arm in shape and might make a rehab start at Triple A before rejoining the rotation.
“I think he could go out there and pitch, I just don’t think it’s the smart thing to do,” Counsell said Wednesday. “In a different situation, maybe we push this. I don’t think this is the right time to push that.”
As much as Taillon didn’t want to go back on the IL, having made just two starts after a seven-week stint when he was sidelined with a right calf strain, he knew it was the right call. Taillon experienced some discomfort working in the weight room Wednesday before he wrapped the area and threw off the mound, where he didn’t feel anything on any throw.
“We all agreed the smart play here is just make sure we don’t mess something up,” Taillon said Wednesday. “I’ve had two elbow surgeries. I’ve had some things over the years, you would hate to compensate something and compromise something, so I’m on board with it. It’s frustrating.
“If I go out there and I’m not myself, I’m not helping anybody. And we have a guy like Assad, who’s a very good player who deserves to be here. So knowing that he can come in and take a start, that eases my mind a little bit that I’m not totally screwing the team here.”
When Taillon had the IL scenario presented to him Wednesday, the situation was framed with the long haul in mind. He knows the Cubs have his best interests in mind, too, when evaluating whether it’s worth trying to push through something like this.
“We have bigger goals in mind than the next two weeks, and I know every game is extremely important, which is why I have a hard time just accepting it,” Taillon said. “But hopefully we’re playing deep into October, and hopefully I’m a really big part of that. So, yeah, it’s important to get this right.
“Are we going to risk really blowing this up if I’m in a game and I’m really stepping on it, or I really have to go run and cover first, or someone bunts? Just feeling it doing some simple weight room things, and it’s not like excruciating pain, but it’s there.”
Counsell quipped that the Cubs had four days of having six healthy starters, “but we’ve got five, and that’s what you need.” Assad’s big-league experience gives the Cubs confidence that the rotation can keep rolling as the right-hander steps in for Taillon.
Beyond the two-week loss of Taillon and Assad’s impending return, some pressure shifts on the rest of the rotation to step up. Right-hander Colin Rea has taken valuable innings for the Cubs after coming into the season without a defined role in the bullpen. He brought a 4.13 ERA as a starter this year into Wednesday’s outing at Oracle Park, where a pair of three-run innings in the third and fifth put the Cubs in catch-up mode most of the game.
Rea, who allowed seven runs (six earned) in 5 1/3 innings, left too many mistakes in the middle of the zone and put himself in bad counts.
“A poor effort on my part overall,” Rea said. “When they get those three spots, those are tough to come back from.”
The Cubs own the top ERA in the majors from their starters since June 25, posting a 3.00 ERA entering Wednesday.
“We’ve pitched very well out of the starting rotation, no question about it, and everybody’s responsible for that, these five guys are taking a pretty equal turn in that,” Counsell said. “It’s made us a consistent baseball team. How our starters have pitched has been a big reason for our consistency, and we’re going to need it for the last 30 games.”