Chicago Cubs Returning Starter Has To Wait For Season Debut

It's going to take another day for one of the Chicago Cubs' returning starting pitchers to get back on the field for the first time this season.

Aug 23, 2023; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jameson Taillon (50) / Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Cubs were dealt some early blows to their pitching staff when Jameson Taillon was placed on the injured list with back issues during spring training and their ace Justin Steele joined him after an Opening Day hamstring injury.

With there already being question marks about their rotation entering the season, this could have been something that got them off to a horrendous start.

Instead, they sit with an 11-7 record and a half game out of first place in the NL Central entering their series against the Miami Marlins.

The Cubs also got a boost when it was revealed Taillon had progressed enough to return to their roster. He was then scheduled to start the opener on Thursday.

Unfortunately, he and Chicago will have to wait for his season debut as their game was canceled due to inclement weather. They will now be playing a doubleheader on Saturday.

Taillon will start the game on Friday, however, according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.

It will be interesting to see how he performs coming off his back injury since he did not have a good outing in his first rehab start (three earned runs on six hits in 2 2/3 innings), but was excellent in his last one (zero earned runs and three hits in 3 2/3 innings).

He was one of the Cubs' more high-profile signings during the 2023 offseason after inking a four-year, $68 million deal in free agency, but he didn't have a great debut year, posting an ERA of 4.84 over his 29 starts and 30 appearances.

For the amount of money that Taillon is getting, he needs to be much better in 2024.

He'll have the opportunity to start producing on Friday when he makes his season debut against one of the worst teams in baseball.