Cubs DFA Jameson Taillon, Select RHP Andrew Wantz

I’d love to devote a little more time to this, but I already wrote about Craig Counsell and Jameson Taillon saying the quiet part out loud about the righty’s performance. Rather than wait to see who they could acquire at the deadline, the Cubs went ahead and parted with the tenured veteran after one too many disastrous starts.

The Chicago Cubs today have selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Andrew Wantz from Triple-A Iowa. Wantz will wear #61 for the Cubs. In a corresponding move, the Cubs today designated right-handed pitcher Jameson Taillon for assignment.

Wantz, 30, is 2-1 with a 4.32 ERA (12 ER/25.0 IP) in seven appearances, including three starts, with the I-Cubs this season. Prior to being signed as a minor league free agent by the Cubs on June 6, Wantz was with the Tampa Bay organization. He made one relief appearance this season for the Rays and went 2-0 with a 7.04 ERA (18 ER/23.0 IP) in 18 appearances, one start, with Triple-A Durham.

Over his Major League career, Wantz is 5-1 with a 4.20 ERA (56 ER/120.0 IP) in 92 appearances and four starts with Los Angeles-AL (2021-2024) and Tampa Bay (2026). He was originally selected by the Angels in the seventh round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.

Taillon, 34, went 2-6 with a 5.92 ERA (50 ER/76.0 IP) in 15 starts this season with the Cubs.

The Cubs play the St. Louis Cardinals tonight at Busch Stadium at 6:45 p.m. in a game that can be seen on Marquee Sports Network and heard on 104.3 the Score.