It’s never been fair to count Shelby Miller among the many “injured Cubs pitchers.”
That’s not to say he isn’t on the Injured List. He is. But that was to be the case back when the Cubs signed him in the offseason. Miller had Tommy John surgery last October, and the Cubs signed him to a two-year deal knowing full well that he might miss the entirety of the 2026 season. They wanted a chance to be the organization that worked with Miller through the rehab and had him for 2027.
Buuuuut there was always a slim possibility that Miller, who had converted to relief many years ago, could return before the end of the 2026 season. It’s rare that even a reliever comes back to competitive big league games at the 10-month mark, which is about what it would have to be for Miller, who had his procedure at the end of October. That’s especially true when, as is the case for Miller, it’s a second elbow reconstruction surgery.
That’s all to say that, while we followed Miller’s rehab closely, he never felt like a guy the Cubs were “missing” this year in the same way all those currently-injured pitchers do.
Yet, here we are in early-August, and Shelby Miller is not only still making a push toward returning this year, he’s already on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Iowa:
Shelby Miller had his first rehab outing at AAA Iowa today.His fastball sat around 95 mph and reached 97. It got whacked around but he limited the damage.His final line:1 IP | 2 H | 1 ER 0 BB | 2 SOSolid first outing post-surgery.#Cubs pic.twitter.com/QzG6fjbsqU
— Wrigley Pipeline (@WrigleyPipeline) August 9, 2026Because this is more like a Spring Training ramp-up for a rehabbing pitcher, as opposed to a guy who had some soreness, missed a few weeks, and then went down on a brief rehab stint, you would still expect Miller to be at Iowa for a while before the Cubs would consider activating him. But man, it’s pretty hard to ignore that he’s already throwing 95-97 mph in a competitive environment. That’s where he was last year when he was a dominant reliever with the Diamondbacks.
Craig Counsell was effusive in his praise of Miller and all the work he’s put in, and also praised the staff in Arizona for helping steer this process. Miller is clearly well ahead of where the Cubs were anticipating he’d be at this point back when they signed him in the offseason. Like I said, though, that doesn’t mean he’s about to be activated:
Craig Counsell provides an update on Shelby Miller, who joined Triple-A Iowa today to begin his rehab assignment ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/MpQqyDVkVC
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) August 9, 2026Keep in mind that, in order to be a useful and effective member of the bullpen right now, Miller is going to have to be able to pitch back-to-back days, as well as possibly three out of four days. That’s where things can get a lot tougher for guys coming back from surgery, and where you can see it taking time to really get back to their best competitive selves. Those recovery days need to be pretty close to where the guy was pre-surgery. I have no idea what that looks like for Miller right now, but we’ll get a good sense based on how many days of rest he’s getting between appearances at Iowa.
Obviously none of this matters if Shelby Miller is not effective. That remains to be seen, and I don’t want to count any chickens on that front, especially after surgery. But there have been stretches the last few years where he has been outstanding in relief. At 35, he’s hardly old for a reliever, and he comes with so much experience, not only across multiple organizations (including the Cubs org back in 2021), but also as a starting pitcher in his younger days. It’s a profile that you might bet on contributing once he’s healthy.
Something to keep in mind on Shelby Miller, and any other reliever returning to the Cubs: come September 1, rosters expand to 28. The Cubs will get an extra pitcher. So they’ll have an extra spot. Ideally, they’ll figure out a way to hang onto everyone until then, even as Daniel Palency, Hoby Milner, Edward Cabrera, and maybe Hunter Harvey return.
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