Imagine a team with a starting rotation already battered with injuries, and just then, a 35-year-old veteran faces a freak injury. It sounds depressing, but for the Cubs, it’s a reality. Just as Matthew Boyd joins the Cubs’ long injury list, it’s no longer a concern about how to replace him, but it’s about how the Cubs would even manage to field their starting rotation.

The Cubs fans may get grumpy with the baseball gods, but for the Cubs’ front office, time is short to navigate the tough water when the clubhouse is screaming mayday.

“Cade Horton is out for the year. Justin Steele suffers a setback during his rehab, and Matthew Boyd needs meniscus surgery. The Cubs have been able to get through a lot over the last six weeks, but at some point, you can only do so much. You know, Jed is working the phones…,” MLB insider Russell Dorsey shared via X.

The latest update about Boyd is that he will miss the foreseeable future due to meniscus surgery. Reason? That’s freakier. He reportedly suffered the injury while “sitting down to play with his kids.” Considering he will have surgery, let’s assume that the Cubs are not getting him before the All-Star break, and that matters. Boyd has started five games this season, working to a 2-1 record with a 6.00 ERA.

So, replacing Boyd will be tough, especially when the Cubs already have 10 pitchers on the injury list. “It’s kind of unexplainable,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.

The Cubs’ 2025 hero, Cade Horton, who went 11-4 with a 2.67 ERA in 23 appearances last year, will miss the entire 2026 season following a successful revision repair of his right elbow ulnar collateral ligament. Justin Steele, who finished 2025 with a 4.76 ERA, is also sidelined with a left flexor strain. He is also unlikely to return by the All-Star break. And now, Boyd entered the list.

So, for the Cubs, they don’t even have the options to pull up some relievers as a stop-gap solution, but need a crop of new names to take up the starting duty. Possible? Counsell is not sure. “[We’ll] just kind of figure out after Thursday what we will do. There will be plans, but very loose plans.”

After losing Boyd, the Cubs’ front office is down to Edward Cabrera, Shota Imanaga, Colun Rea, Javier Assad, and Jameson Taillon. Now, with Cabrera currently standing with a 3.27 ERA and Taillon’s 4.24 ERA, relying on them comes with a risk. Imanaga is doing well this year, but his regression during the second half of 2025, when his ERA shot up to 4.70 ERA means the Cubs are currently without a safety net.

A few outside helps from free agency might be the last option left for Jed Hoyer.

The Cubs need to shop again in free agency

There’s no other option left, and a few free agents could still make a difference.

The first name could be the 31-year-old Nestor Cortes. He missed most of 2025 due to a tendon tear, but he is fit now to take the mound. He had a great season with the Yankees in 2024, returning with a 3.77 ERA from 31 appearances. The Cubs could gain from his four-seam fastball and cutter, which he elevates by utilizing high spin rates, deceptive “rising” action, and varied arm angles.

Moreover, while averaging only around 90-91 mph, Cortes’ fastball behaves like a high-rise pitch, and his cutter is a precise, high-usage weapon. So, a stopgap solution to Boyd might just be available for around $6 million this time. (Nestor had a $7.6 million contract with the Brewers last year)

The next option could be Marcus Stroman. Yes, we remember his rough time with the Yankees last year, but in the short term, Stroman could still become a potent weapon for the Cubs. The best part is that he is no stranger to the Cubs. In 2023, he had a 3.95 ERA in 27 total appearances with the Cubs. Although he had an $18 million contract last year, ideally, he should come in at a much lower price point.

Still, the call is on the Cubs front office. Hoch confirmed that Hoyer is dialling up calls. So, hopefully, a new name could land soon in Chicago.

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