How Cubs can salvage season despite plethora of pitching injuries

The Chicago Cubs had one of the best pitching staff in the National League when the 2026 season started. Staff ace Cade Horton had a great first year, with a 2.67 ERA over 118 innings and being named the NL Rookie of the Year runner-up. Matthew Boyd had just finished an All-Star season, and lefty Shota Imanaga had just signed a one-year qualifying offer after going 15-3 with a 2.91 ERA in 2024. The rotation looked like the engine of a real contender. Then it was April, and things started to go wrong.

Within the first two weeks of the regular season, the Cubs found themselves without three of their top five starters. Horton underwent season-ending UCL surgery after experiencing right forearm discomfort in just his second start of the year. Boyd was placed on the 15-day IL with a left biceps strain on April 6. Jordan Wicks had already been sidelined since February with elbow inflammation, and reliever Porter Hodge added to the misery with a strained elbow of his own. For a franchise that had spent the offseason building one of the most envied rotations in baseball, the early returns have been nothing short of a nightmare.

But the season is 162 games. And if history has taught us anything about the Cubs under Craig Counsell, it’s that this organization knows how to reload on the fly. Here is exactly how Chicago can still salvage 2026.

Lean on Shota Imanaga and Edward Cabrera as the Rotation’s Backbone

The Cubs do not need to rebuild their rotation from the ground up, they need to trust the pieces they have. Shota Imanaga may be the most important player on this entire roster right now. Despite a bumpy first start, Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy made clear that Imanaga’s stuff is better in 2026 than it was during his breakout 2024 campaign. His fastball velocity has climbed to 92.2 mph, up from 90.8 mph in 2025, and he’s already shown flashes of brilliance, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning against the Pirates on April 10. Imanaga is the anchor this rotation desperately needs right now.

Right beside him is Edward Cabrera, the hard-throwing righty acquired from the Marlins this past offseason who brings legitimate ace-caliber upside. Cabrera posted a 2.22 ERA across 16 starts between May and August a season ago. At 27 years old with upper-90s heat and a four-pitch arsenal, he gives Chicago a genuine front-of-the-rotation weapon who opposing lineups genuinely fear, as he’s yet to give up a run across two starts with his new ball club.

Edward Cabrera's 2Ks in the 6th. pic.twitter.com/5q1RpAMPdt

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 31, 2026

If Imanaga and Cabrera can eat innings at the rate their talent allows, the Cubs won’t need to make any desperate decisions. Jameson Taillon slots in as a steady No. 3, and if the Cubs can get even serviceable production from the back of the order, they remain dangerous.

The Offense Must Carry Its Weight

Here is the uncomfortable truth: the Cubs’ pitching can fight through this, but the offense has to meet them halfway. Through the first two weeks of the season, Chicago ranks 18th in runs scored and 19th in team wRC+. That is not good enough for a team with this lineup. Alex Bregman, signed in the offseason to provide a right-handed power bat, is drawing walks and showing elite plate discipline, but the run production hasn’t yet matched the process. Nico Hoerner is coming off a 6.2 bWAR campaign in which he won a Gold Glove and contended for a batting title. Pete Crow-Armstrong, Ian Happ, and Dansby Swanson give Counsell one of the more balanced lineups in the NL on paper.

This lineup gets a lot better when Seiya Suzuki comes back from his sprained knee. Counsell needs to find ways to score runs against good starters instead of waiting for the three-run home run. Small ball, situational hitting, and aggressive baserunning aren’t flashy, but they help you win close games, and this season will be all about close games for the Cubs. The pitchers are going to give up more runs than they first thought they would. The offense needs to make up for it.

The Cubs are a team that does well in October, and one bad April doesn’t change that. If Imanaga and Cabrera stay healthy and a lineup full of proven veterans starts to click, Chicago can definitely stay in the NL Central race long enough for Boyd and Steele to come back and change everything. The Cubs’ season in 2026 isn’t over yet. It’s just being tested earlier than anyone wanted.

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