Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Javier Assad has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 left oblique strain, manager Craig Counsell told MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian and others on Friday.
Assad had been on a minor league rehab assignment, working his way back from an oblique injury he suffered in the early days of spring training. The Cubs ultimately placed Assad on the 15-day injured list to open the season, not giving him his first rehab start until April 15.
The 27-year-old right-hander made a second rehab start with Triple-A Iowa the following Tuesday, but left early after reaggravating the issue in his left oblique area. He was sent for an MRI and promptly shut down.
Per Counsell, Assad will have to start his buildup from scratch when he is eventually cleared to throw again.
In his two rehab appearances, Assad posted a 3.68 ERA, 1.500 WHIP and 11.0 strikeouts per nine innings.
Assad is coming off his first full season as a big league starter. He took the mound just nine times in 2022 upon making his MLB debut, while he was a reliever in 22 of his 32 outings in 2023.
Despite coming out of the gates red-hot in 2024 – he went 4-0 with a 1.49 ERA and 1.034 WHIP through his first nine starts – Assad’s production fell off down the stretch. From May 21 on, Assad went 3-6 with a 4.83 ERA and 1.581 WHIP.
Chicago already lost ace Justin Steele to season-ending elbow surgery earlier this month, and now Assad looks like he could be out for an extended period of time as well. Still, the presence of Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Ben Brown and Colin Rea gives the Cubs a full rotation, albeit one without whose depth has already been exhausted.
Cade Horton’s emergence as the top pitching prospect in Chicago’s farm system should give the club some comfort in spite of the injuries, although he has yet to make his big league debut.