![\"Craig](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/USATSI_29052561-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\nPITTSBURGH \u2014 With the Aug. 3 trade deadline rapidly approaching and a glaring need for pitching reinforcements, Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell acknowledged Sunday that Jameson Taillon\u2019s spot in the rotation is in jeopardy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need better than that,\u201d Counsell said after Chicago\u2019s 8-7 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park, where Taillon gave up three more home runs, including Ryan O\u2019Hearn\u2019s grand slam in the third inning, forcing the Cubs to play catch-up instead of closing out a three-game sweep against another playoff contender. \u201cWe put seven on the board. That should be enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taillon gave up seven runs in four innings as his ERA rose to 5.92. Counsell acknowledged that Taillon\u2019s inconsistencies \u2014 opponents have launched 25 home runs during his 15 starts \u2014 are reaching a point where the Cubs will have to reevaluate his role.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got to discuss it,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cWe got days to figure that out, but we have to discuss what\u2019s best for the staff in general.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Cubs could shift Javier Assad out of the bullpen and back into the rotation before the trade deadline. Later in August, the team hopes to activate Edward Cabrera off the injured list, which also includes Cade Horton, Justin Steele and Ben Brown.<\/p>\n
Taillon is in the final season of the four-year, $68 million deal he signed to help stabilize Chicago\u2019s rotation and bring a sense of professionalism to a team trying to exit a rebuilding phase.<\/p>\n
The 34-year-old right-hander has been a dependable pitcher for long stretches of that contract. He started two elimination games the Cubs won last October. He\u2019s widely respected in the clubhouse for his work ethic and ability to connect with different players.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n \u201cWe need better than that,\u201d Cubs manager Craig Counsell said after Chicago\u2019s 8-7 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday. \u201cWe put seven on the board. That should be enough.\u201d (Charles LeClaire \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
Taillon understood the question about Counsell and his coaches looking at possible alternatives: \u201cI\u2019ve been around long enough to know that I\u2019m hurting the team, and have been for a little while now, so I\u2019m not naive to that at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the organization\u2019s pitching depth depleted, the Cubs are near the beginning of a stretch with 17 games scheduled in 17 days, and 26 games over a 27-day period. During Sunday\u2019s pregame media session, Counsell floated the idea of using a six-man rotation at some point, but that was before Taillon\u2019s issue with home runs resurfaced.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a problem all year,\u201d Taillon said. \u201cAs far as a theme goes, just leaving too many pitches over the big part of the plate to lefties. Probably could pitch in a little more and buy myself more room out there on the outer half. But overall, obviously, just not good enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe results speak for themselves. I\u2019m confident I can figure it out. But when you\u2019re going out there and hurting the team, it\u2019s obviously not a good place to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Besides his track record and the constant possibility of more injuries, Taillon could also receive a grace period, considering a strained left hamstring sidelined him for six weeks, and he\u2019s made only two starts since coming off the injured list.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe factor all that in,\u201d Counsell said, \u201cand we got some time to make that decision.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PITTSBURGH \u2014 With the Aug. 3 trade deadline rapidly approaching and a glaring need for pitching reinforcements, Chicago…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":828785,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,508,462,82],"class_list":["post-828784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-chicago-cubs","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=828784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828784\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/828785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=828784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=828784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=828784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}