The Rundown Lite: Not Time to Panic Yet, Starters Making Rotation Decisions Easier, Sox Sign Syndergaard

The Midwest quickly went from quite comfortable to wholly unbearable in a span of days, with tornadoes and thunderstorms last week giving way to what now feels like a multistate pressure cooker. It’s always good to step outside and get punched in the face by intense heat and humidity before climbing into a car doing its best to simulate the surface of Venus. Please stay hydrated and use plenty of sunscreen.

Craig Counsell‘s team appears to be wilting under an unrelenting June schedule that had them playing 26 games in 27 days before a rainout last week. Even with that extra day of rest, the Cubs appear to be playing a step behind their opponents lately. Some of that is just a matter of perspective and context, so let’s try to adjust our view just a bit.

Skids happen

I know it’s difficult to think holistically when things aren’t going well, but even the best teams will go through stretches in which they look downright bad. The 2016 Cubs were 25-6 on May 10, then went through a 4-8 stretch. They were 47-20 heading into a series in St. Louis that began on June 20, then got swept at home by the Redbirds to start a 5-15 skid that included four- and five-game losing streaks.

My kids and I caught the end of that latter run of futility, the second-to-last game of the first half in Pittsburgh. The loss included Josh Bell‘s first homer, a grand slam against Adam Warren that put the home team up 11-5. The 2025 team isn’t the same group by any means, but the point is that treading water for a while is hardly a death knell.

Not-so-hot Brown

Ben Brown‘s outings have too often resembled a turd sandwich version of the infamous KFC Double Down, the one with fried chicken breasts as the “buns” around a bacon-and-cheese filling. In this case, it’s two innings of crap wrapped around slices of excellence. The obvious problem is that even the best two or three innings can’t outweigh the worst when they come in the same start.

Brown went with more of an open-face version on Monday in St. Louis, following three scoreless frames with a disastrous two-plus innings that included four two-run homers. In order, they came against a curve, four-seam, changeup, and four-seam. He gave up nine hits in total and struck out only three batters; it’s never good when your final line includes fewer strikeouts than homers allowed.

“Just misses over the big part of the plate,” catcher Carson Kelly explained after the game.

That has been the case far too often for Brown, who has now given up 94 hits in 79.1 innings. That’s the seventh-most in MLB, and you have to get all the way down to Drew Rasmussen at 59 hits allowed to find another pitcher with as few innings as Brown. While Counsell explained that the big righty has shown growth in some areas, his comments from several days ago still hold true.

“It’s just execution,” Counsell said after Brown’s start against the Phillies on June 11. “We see [he] clearly has the stuff to be successful in the league, but also, it’s a fine line. And if you’re not sharp, and if you’re giving hitters free pitches, and you’re not executing, it’s difficult to survive and to get through lineups without giving up runs…

“But he just wasn’t crisp today in terms of the execution.”

Brown’s new kick-change was part of that poor execution, which is going to happen from time to time with a new pitch. With any pitch, really, but particularly one that’s still a work in progress. He only threw it three times, and the one that got tagged for a homer hung up in the zone with too much spin. Whether it’s a move to the bullpen or a stint in Triple-A to rebuild his confidence, Brown needs to figure something out.

Rea not long for rotation either

Monday was an opportunity for Brown to keep himself in the rotation and push Colin Rea to the ‘pen, but it looks like neither pitcher is a good option right now. The return of Shōta Imanaga on Thursday will see one of them replaced, and there’s a possibility that the Cubs will jump the market to add another arm well ahead of the trade deadline.

Most folks tend to agree that it won’t be a big name like Sandy Alcántara, especially with the Marlins’ presumed ask for the hard-throwing righty. Zac Gallen could be a possibility, especially if the Cubs are looking to add a little thump to the roster. I’m speaking, of course, about Eugenio Suárez. The slugging third baseman is at 25 homers on the season with a 141 wRC+ that would be the highest of his career. He’s still just 33 years old and is only under contract through the remainder of this season, so the acquisition cost wouldn’t be exorbitant.

As well as Matt Shaw has played defensively, his bat has a long way to go before he can be considered a difference-maker on offense. The only issue with Suárez is that he’s a reverse-split guy who hasn’t hit lefties very well this year, though his career splits are more traditional. There’s also the matter of the D-backs remaining somewhat competitive in the NL West. If they’re going to be sellers, it probably won’t happen for a while.

I was going to mention Rasmussen as a possibility as well, something that has been floated before, but Tampa is only two games behind the Yankees in the AL East and would be the top Wild Card team if the season ended today. Dealing with the Rays is always tricky, and getting them to part with Rasmussen — yes, even with his injury history — adds another wrinkle.

Either way, the Cubs have reached the point where they have to know they can’t keep rolling both Rea and Brown out there every five days.

South Side Thor

Noah Syndergaard was one of the best young arms in baseball when he came up with the Mets during their run to the World Series in 2015. He made his debut against the Cubs at Wrigley on May 12 that year, taking the loss in a relatively unspectacular start. I got to see him pitch for the Las Vegas 51s the year before from right behind home plate, which was fun.

Injuries have dogged him since 2020, and he’s bounced around between teams as his velocity went from 98-99 mph with the Mets to 94 and even 92 mph over the last few seasons. He didn’t pitch at all in 2024, but now he’s got a chance to make a little noise with the White Sox. As first reported by Sox Machine’s James Fegan, Syndergaard has inked a minor league deal and will ramp up at the team’s Arizona complex.

This is a risk-free flyer for GM Chris Getz, who has to be hoping Thor can flash enough over the next month and change to get some other team to part with a prospect for his services down the stretch. I wouldn’t put very good odds on it, but no harm in trying.