The Cubs brought Jameson Taillon back from the 15-day injured list on July 20, 2026, ending a stretch of more than a month on the sidelines with a hamstring strain. In the same roster move, they also activated Aaron Civale, putting two arms back into a pitching staff that has been stretched for weeks.
Taillon’s return matters because the Cubs were 56-43 and still holding a Wild Card spot when they made the move, with August 3 approaching and every healthy starter carrying added weight. The club had already been leaning on Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga and Colin Rea, and it added David Peterson from the Mets late last month to keep the rotation moving.
That need is not going away. Cade Horton is out for the year after Tommy John surgery, Justin Steele is trying to come back from UCL surgery and has already hit setbacks, and Ben Brown and Edward Cabrera were both on the injured list. Taillon is returning into a rotation that still has too many holes to treat this as a clean fix.
The Cubs also used the same day to change the bullpen picture. Phil Maton went on the 15-day injured list with right knee tendinitis, his third IL stint of the season for the same issue, and he had a 6.18 ERA in 31 appearances. Drew Pomeranz was designated for assignment after six appearances with the Cubs, a span in which he allowed five earned runs in 5 2/3 innings.
That left the Cubs choosing between holding onto a veteran left-hander with shaky results and opening room for a healthier arm. Pomeranz had a 5.59 ERA, a 12.6% strikeout rate and an 11.9% walk rate in 29 innings this year, numbers that made the decision harder to avoid even as the club kept one eye on the standings. Taillon can help settle the rotation for now, but the larger problem is that the Cubs still have to get through the rest of the month with a staff that keeps losing pieces.
