AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

The Rundown: Slumping Cubs Lose Another Series, Taillon Injured, PCA Posting Elite Numbers, Skubal Rehabbing

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterJune 8, 2026

“Born under a bad sign. Been down since I began to crawl. If it wasn’t for bad luck, you know, I wouldn’t have no luck at all.” — Born Under a Bad Sign by Albert King

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer was interviewed by ESPN’s Jesse Rogers and said the trade deadline “was the furthest thing” from his mind. The Cubs have been playing the part of sellers for the last six weeks or so, and it might be time for fans to accept that reality as well. Jameson Taillon left yesterday’s start with a hamstring issue, another in a long line of this season’s pitching injuries. Overhauling the coaching staff should be at the forefront of Hoyer’s mind these days.

  • Justin Steele was rehabbing from last year’s injury when he suffered a setback last month. He has yet to get back on the mound.
  • Cade Horton is out for the year after getting hurt in early April.
  • Matthew Boyd was placed on the IL on April 6 with a biceps strain and again on May 6 for a torn meniscus in his left knee.
  • Edward Cabrera was out for 10 days due to a blister on his pitching hand.
  • Jordan Wicks started the season on the IL with a radial nerve irritation.
  • Jaxon Wiggins made two starts for Iowa before he was shut down with right elbow inflammation.
  • Taillon will miss at least two starts with the hamstring injury. More information regarding the severity of the strain and additional time off is forthcoming, per manager Craig Counsell.

The Cubs simply do not have the horses to compete with the Brewers and Pirates. Rogers, who also interviewed third baseman Alex Bregman about his season-long hitting woes, is playing the part of coroner as much as beat reporter. Chicago is 2-4 in its post-Memorial Day contests and has been outscored 35-19 by the A’s and Giants in those games. Ben Brown, who has ascended to the top of the rotation, at least statistically, has remained injury-free. Then again, he worked with Clay Holmes in the offseason. Holmes, who plays for the Mets but is also injured, should be at the top of Hoyer’s trade deadline wishlist. He’s done more for the Cubs this season than Tommy Hottovy.

I feel bad for Counsell. He’s run into a bit of bad luck since joining the Cubs, whether it be pitching injuries, prolonged hitting slumps, or miscues in the field and on the basepaths. Hoyer remains pragmatic, however.

“Some of these slumps give me comfort,” he said. “I know that sounds strange. We have really good, established players. They’re going to get hot, they’re going to get to their numbers. That’s just how this works.”

Chicago sits in third place, 7.5 games behind Milwaukee. It might be time to light that candle.

Cubs News & Notes

Ball Four

Javier Báez takes whiffing to a whole new level.

Central Intelligence

How About That!

The Dodgers appear to be the frontrunners to acquire Skubal. I wouldn’t sleep on the Brewers, though. A trio of Skubal, Jacob Misiorowski, and Kyle Harrison could provide Milwaukee with its clearest path to a pennant since 1982.

Misiorowski lowered his ERA to 1.50 with another stellar outing.

On Sunday, Skubal pitched five scoreless innings in a rehab start for High-A West Michigan.

A’s rookie Gage Jump tossed his second consecutive gem, beating the Astros 5-0.

Padres closer Mason Miller is nearly impossible to hit, and here’s why.

A plane that was on its way to pick up Yadier Molina in Texas crashed in the Dominican Republic on Sunday, killing its two pilots.

Three from the Bill Chuck Files

  1. Gleyber Torres was out of action from May 3 to June 1 and the Tigers were an MLB-worst 6-21 during that span. Detroit won four straight once Torres returned.
  2. The Brewers haven’t had a 20-game winner since Teddy Higuera did it in 1986. Jake Arrieta was the last Cubs starter to win 20 or more, finishing with 22 in 2015. Spencer Strider won 20 games for the Braves in 2023 and no other starter has hit that mark since. The Rockies have never had a 20-game winner.
  3. Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber lead the majors with 10 go-ahead homers.

Extra Innings

This is who the Cubs got for Báez, in case you need a reminder.

They Said It

  • “Your World Series odds are probably going to be correlated to your odds of getting a bye, and getting a bye is such a big deal. A lot of that aggressiveness is based on that ability to get the bye.” – Hoyer
  • “I’ve been terrible. I need to play better. Offensively, its been awful. I’ve started slow before, I’ve started fast before. When you’re struggling, there is only one way forward and that’s straight, head-on through it. It comes down to executing in the game. I haven’t executed all year. Runners in scoring position, I’ve been god-awful. I need to be better. If I’m better over the last how many games, we probably win the majority of them.” – Bregman
  • “Our position-player group is deep and it’s pretty set. The backbone of this team is our position players. They have to play well for us to be a good team.” – Hoyer

Monday Walk-Up Song

This classic by Stevie Ray Vaughan was recently inducted for preservation into the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress.

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterJune 8, 2026
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