Cubs’ Change of Heart on $6.22M Phillies Star Could Backfire as Eye-Opening Stat Unveils Massive Potential

The Chicago Cubs offense might be raging in power, but pitching? That’s hanging by the thread. But what is interesting is the fact that much of the concerns could be avoided, if they got Jesus Luzardo. The same player they surprisingly passed on! After looking over his medical records and spotting some concerns with his elbow and his back, the Cubs pulled out from an almost-done trade deal for the then-Miami Marlins pitcher, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.

Fast forward to today, and Luzardo ended up with the Philadelphia Phillies and is now making the Cub’s decision look worse by the day.

Ever since joining the Phillies, Luzardo has been simply electric. Through his first five starts, the 27-year-old left-hander has a sharp 2.08 ERA across 30.1 innings. But that’s not all the magic he is bringing to Philadelphia.

Luzardo is punching hitters at a 10.7 K/9 rate and also is generating a 31.8 % chase rate. It landed him in the 76th percentile league-wide. The most notable difference right now is the $6.22M star’s four-seamer which has come back to life. It is helping Luzardo dominate right out of the gate- and his 11-strikeout debut at Citizens Bank Park is proof of that. This of course is not what the Cubs had in mind when they let this trade go because they needed that help in the starting pitching area.

Because they lost Justin Steele, and even though they have Sota Imanaga, a one-man army isn’t going to help them. For the Cubs, this isn’t great news, because if Chicago wants to be playing in October, they should know they are up against top-tier arms. The Phillies, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the San Diego Padres are there blazing, and the Cubs might not be able to match that firepower.

Plus, now they have another major issue as the player who they were thinking would bring relief to the rotation is not going to be able to do that. This is a gut punch for the Cubs- something they didn’t see coming.

The Chicago Cubs rotation is in shambles

Just when the rotation situation was already looking shaky, the news that came on Friday came as a huge blow to the team. Manager Craig Counsell confirmed that Javier Assad has a Grade 2 oblique strain. What’s worse is that it happened during a rehab start, meaning he is now not just delayed to get back to the rotation, but back to square one. No timetable now, nor are there quick fixes, just pure frustration.

Initially, the plan was for Assad to miss only a month. But now, after his injury during his second rehab outing at Triple-A Iowa, it’s looking like he will be out at least for another month or even longer. This stings for the Chicago Cubs, because before that Assad was throwing pretty well. Five strikeouts and just one run allowed in 3.1 innings his first time out. So of course, the team counted him in when it came to stabilizing the pitching staff.

At the end of the day, the 27-year-old has shown his potential in everything from start, relief, and more. So after Steele, Assad was the next logical man. His last season’s stats were great, with a 3.73 ERA and 124 strikeouts in 147 innings across 29 starts. The year before was even better, with a 3.05 ERA. But now the Cubs have to go ahead without him too.

The Chicago Cubs are having to rely on Colin Rea and Ben Brown to fill in those roles. The Cubs recently even got Drew Pomeranz but it doesn’t solve the entire pitching issue. Right now, thankfully, the offense is working its magic, and their 16-10 record is due to their run production. But come October, and just insane offense won’t work—they need to have their arms ready and up.

Do you think that the Cubs might be wishing they hadn’t passed up on Luzardo when they had their chance? Let us know your thoughts.

The post Cubs’ Change of Heart on $6.22M Phillies Star Could Backfire as Eye-Opening Stat Unveils Massive Potential appeared first on EssentiallySports.