limited by injury after the Cubs acquired him<\/a> at the 2025 trade deadline, reached out to Wright in the offseason and strongly recommended the organization.<\/p>\n\u201cI knew there was crazy competition in this locker room and maybe I could have signed somewhere else and had a better opportunity out of the gate, but for me it\u2019s about how do we get back healthy and if I get back healthy then everything\u2019s going to take care of itself,\u201d Wright said. \u201cBecause I know that I\u2019m capable, I\u2019ve got to get there first. So I knew they weren\u2019t going to rush me. They were going to put the best plan in place to get me back to my previous self.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wright and the Cubs believe that stellar 2022 performance, when he posted a 3.19 ERA in 30 starts for the Braves to finish 10th in National League Cy Young Award voting, wasn\u2019t a one-off season.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has a very successful major-league season under his belt and at a young age, so the pitch to Kyle coming here is let\u2019s take the time to get you back to that pitcher because it\u2019s not like it\u2019s something you\u2019ve never done,\u201d manager Craig Counsell said. \u201cIt\u2019s something you\u2019ve already accomplished and that\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are taking this methodically to make sure that he\u2019s in the best position, health-wise, to get back to that level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wright is still relying on the same pitch mix, and he is excited to be able to throw his curveball again. The pitch developed into his most effective weapon and became an indicator that his shoulder was injured. He realized something was wrong during the 2023 season when he couldn\u2019t get his curveball\u2019s pitch shape to move the correct way. That has no longer been an issue with his shoulder healthy, allowing him to get the movements he wants on his curveball and the rest of his repertoire.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this game, you realize you can\u2019t take anything for granted,\u201d Wright said. \u201cYou can pitch really well and then you can get your butt kicked, get injured. There\u2019s just so many different things that can happen. So definitely getting a lot of perspective on the game and trying to go out there, enjoy doing what I do. Figuring out how to get back to who I was, which I know I definitely can. I know it\u2019s in there. There\u2019s days where I\u2019m like, yep, that\u2019s it, and there\u2019s times where I\u2019m still one or two small little things away from getting back to who I can be.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Cubs are being deliberate with Wright\u2019s build-up. He\u2019s thrown three live BPs and pitched in a simulated game on Wednesday. They haven\u2019t determined yet whether Wright will pitch in another sim game or make his first Cactus League appearance. He wants to make sure to get as many game reps as possible before camp breaks to increase intensity and volume.<\/p>\n
Wright is willing to fill any role the Cubs need, even as a multi-inning reliever. He expects to build up as a starter and can adjust from there. Wright just wants to get back to the big leagues.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there\u2019s an opportunity that arises in one way or another, sign me up,\u201d Wright said. \u201cWhatever\u2019s needed, I\u2019m here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MESA, Ariz. \u2014\u00a0Kyle Wright can\u2019t help but feel relieved. He\u2019s finally healthy after right shoulder surgery in 2023,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":504231,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[208941,479,229660,209306,363,2008,229659,99,63077],"class_list":["post-504230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-cactus-league","tag-chicago-cubs","tag-cubs-rotation","tag-kyle-wright","tag-mlb","tag-mlb-baseball","tag-shoulder-injury-rehab","tag-sports","tag-spring-training"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=504230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504230\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/504231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=504230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=504230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=504230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Kyle](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ctc-z-1487385590_115604956.jpg\")
Kyle Wright of the Atlanta Braves pitches against the Miami Marlins during the first inning on May 3, 2023, in Miami. (Megan Briggs\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n