Edward Cabrera had a brutal Sunday outing against the Cardinals, giving up seven runs on six hits and three walks in just three and two-thirds innings. It took St. Louis until just the third batter to grab the lead, and after a leadoff double to JJ Wetherholt, Alec Burleson launched a 421-foot rocket to the bleachers. This disastrous start pushes Cabrera’s season ERA to a staggering 5.04, leaving Cubs fans totally bewildered about what exactly they traded for last winter. With less than 40 regular season games left, this isn’t just a bad start, it’s a huge problem.
Back from the IL, Still Rough
The Cubs brought Cabrera in with serious expectations, no doubt about it. They shipped off top outfield prospect Owen Caissie, plus two other minor leaguers, to the Marlins. The hope? A major boost for their pitching staff, especially after the front office built some serious depth at the trade deadline. But so far, the returns have been tough. Cabrera’s been sidelined for chunks of the season; first, he was shelved since June with a left hamstring strain, and before that, he missed two weeks at the end of May because of a right middle finger blister. You just can’t get into a consistent rhythm with that much time off. His 5.04 ERA screams struggles, and his strikeout rate, which was as high as 10 per nine innings in 2024, has dropped off big time. That high strikeout stuff was a huge part of his appeal in the trade, and now it’s just not there.
“Go Time” or Go Home?
After Sunday’s mess, manager Craig Counsell didn’t pull any punches. “Frankly, we’re at go time here,” he said, making it crystal clear Cabrera needs to deliver. There isn’t much runway left in the regular season, and the Cubs need a guy who can round out a strong playoff rotation. Counsell noted the “lack of swing and miss is concerning” and pointed directly to the problem: the separation between Cabrera’s fastball and his changeup is just too small. “The changeup maybe acts as a sinker at times, but not to the point where you can get some swing and miss on it or the fastball,” Counsell explained. You saw it in the numbers: seven balls in play off Cabrera on Sunday clocked in at least 92 miles per hour, and out of 11 outs, only two were strikeouts. That’s just not the guy they thought they were getting.
The drama doesn’t stop with the stats. Cabrera had a band-aid on his right middle finger after the game, the same finger that put him on the IL earlier in the season. He told interpreter Fredy Quevedo, Jr. he felt a “sensation” from the start that just got worse as he pitched, even though his velocity was still “as sharp as ever.” He tried to push through it, but simply “wasn’t able to.” Despite Counsell being “iffy” about whether Cabrera will even make his next start, Cabrera himself is planning on it, declaring “100 percent” he’ll take the mound and that he’s already had trainers apply a substance to harden the skin. The Cubs made aggressive moves for postseason arms, but this guy, the one they paid a premium for, needs to show he’s truly capable of being a playoff arm. Can he turn it around before time totally runs out?
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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