I’m glad ‘The Odyssey’ is thousands of years old, or else I’d really be worried about spoilers right about now.
The Cubs will get Jameson Taillon back today, officially, and they’ll have to make a roster move to accommodate his return. It could be a reliever going out, or it could be that Javier Assad gets optioned to Iowa to stay stretched out. Notably, he was not included in the probable starters for this Tigers series, which means he won’t have started a full turn through the rotation coming out of the break. Also notable, Aaron Civale will arrive this week, and although I don’t anticipate he’ll be making starts, it’s nevertheless another roster move the Cubs will have to make. The Cubs tried to get Phil Maton some work in a blowout, having just returned from resting the knee tendinitis on the IL, and he struggled again. It’s just one post-break outing, so I’m not going to overreact on that basis, alone. But obviously we long ago reached the point where the Cubs either need him to feel closer to 100% so that his mechanics can get to where they need to be, or they need to figure out a different approach. The 13-man pitching staff could get crowded soon, with Taillon’s return, Civale’s arrival, and eventual health for guys like Hoby Milner and Ethan Roberts (and later, hopefully guys like Daniel Palencia and Edward Cabrera). Throw in a Trade Deadline that should see the Cubs add two-ish pitchers, and it’s very difficult to see how the Cubs could hide Maton for the next month, hoping he gets right with sporadic, mop-up innings of work. It strains the rest of the bullpen, which means, realistically, you do have to lean on the guy in closer games sometimes – and can he be trusted? Over other options, who might be shuttled out to accommodate the incoming arms? That is all to say: assuming the Cubs figure out how to on-board Taillon and Civale with Maton still on the roster, he could have another couple weeks to show he can get right. Here’s hoping he does. A Maton who pitches like he pretty much always has is a guy the Cubs REALLY NEED. But we’ve been sitting on hope for almost four months now. I see things like this and it takes all of my strength not to think about what might have been if Cade Horton didn’t get hurt and if Justin Steele were back:The Cubs have the 4th best OPS in MLB.They are also considered one of and if not the best defensive units in the league. You don’t get many seasons when those two converge. If their pitching booms in the second half, that’s the mark of a bona fide contender. t.co/heiHT6WgGO
Kepley injuryLooks like he got hit in the head sliding into second. pic.twitter.com/H4wG8475u5
— Todd ⚾️?? (@CubsCentral08) July 19, 2026 It’s a little hard to tell for sure, but it looks like the defender’s knee hit the side of Kepley’s head. Hopefully he’ll be all right, but you certainly have to be careful with something like that. Kepley’s health and career are the most important things, but the timing is also notable, with the Trade Deadline two weeks away. Kepley, whose skill set is such that dominating High-A has been rather easy, may be seen as a trade piece for the Cubs (it’s been odd for a hot minute now that he hasn’t been promoted to Double-A, where he might be better challenged). An injury that keeps him out over these two weeks could change that calculus. The Orioles have reportedly extended Kyle Bradish on a five-year, $90 million deal. Bradish, who turns 30 later this year, was under control via arbitration for two more years, so the O’s are guaranteeing those years and getting themselves three free agent seasons. It’s an atypical deal, given his age, limited big league innings, and where he stood in service time. You don’t often see teams wanting to buy out years of a pitcher’s time solidly into his 30s years in advance, but he’s been very good since returning from Tommy John surgery, and the commitment isn’t THAT large. It’s not hard to imagine this turning into a situation where, in two years, they would’ve regretted that he could now depart into free agency for a much larger score than whatever remains on his deal at that point. Had Justin Steele successfully returned to starting earlier this year, by the way, you could’ve argued for a comp here, as Steele is just a year further along than Bradish in age and service time. But the additional flexor injury, which might prevent Steele from starting this year, obviously throws a significant wrench into things. The hope is that Steele can come back as a reliever late in the year, and then have a health offseason ahead of his final year of control via arbitration. It’s conceivable the Cubs might approach him about an extension in the offseason, but that depends on health, how he projects, and whatever is happening with the lockout. Seems like a lot of times, the outfielder doesn’t get an error if he simply doesn’t touch the ball, even if he clearly goofed:?WEIRD SCORING ALERT?This is from today's @Twins at @Cubs game. Nico Hoerner was credited with a triple here as even though the CF misses the ball, because he was running in and in the scorer's mind, he hadn't recovered and gained control of himself, he doesn't get an error… pic.twitter.com/QbOY8scdDf
— MLB Scoring Changes (@ScoringChanges) July 19, 2026 Far more important is that Nico Hoerner scorched it, and had multi-hit games in all three games in the Twins series. Brett Bateman showing over-the-fence power to center field, you say:Brett Bateman goes yard and has six RBI in his last three games! pic.twitter.com/QeT6dK39gR
— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) July 19, 2026 And Jonathon Long continues to rake of late:Jonathon Long BOMB ? pic.twitter.com/HcuFOsPL3x
— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) July 19, 2026 The timing for Long, by the way, is particularly good. There just might not be a future spot for him on the big league Cubs, but he does look like he could be a big league bat – we might see him pop up in trade rumors over the next two weeks. In case you missed it this weekend:This is what champions are made of. ???????? ?? ??? ???? ??? @ARizzo44. pic.twitter.com/w6zelV4SEN
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 18, 2026 Rintaro Sasaki, the Japanese slugging prospect who took the unusual route of forgoing the NPB draft to come play at Stanford, has announced that he will sign with the Miami Marlins.Rintaro Sasaki on Instagram ⬇️I, Rintaro Sasaki, have decided to play for the Miami Marlins.I understand better than anyone that I still do not have enough ability. Even if this path ultimately ends in failure, I do not want to have any regrets.In the way I live my life, I… pic.twitter.com/PBPStogvnn
— Yakyu Cosmopolitan (@yakyucosmo) July 20, 2026 The decision is notable because (1) Sasaki was also drafted in the first round in the NPB draft and could have returned to Japan to play there as a tip-top prospect, (2) Sasaki was only a sophomore at Stanford, so he could have returned for his junior year there, and (3) he was not coming off a particularly strong two years at Stanford. I’ll be very interested to see what kind of price the Marlins had to pay to get him to forgo both a return to Stanford (where he could’ve upped his stock) and a return to Japan (where he would’ve likely received a larger signing bonus and could’ve been a local star for years). The whole thing is a potential new model for Japanese stars looking to come to MLB (signing out of the draft with an NPB club means they have your rights for nine years, unless they decide to post you earlier), and Sasaki is committed to showing it’s a viable path. Trey Wingenter couldn’t get over the hump as a Cubs reclamation play in 2024, so he headed to Japan, where he has been a dominant reliever the last two years (he has 13 scoreless appearances so far this year, and has allowed just 9 earned runs total over nearly 60 innings of work in Japan). He was at that Triple-A/MLB border for years, grabbed by a number of teams that saw the talent, so it’s not necessarily a surprise that he’s succeed in the NPB. This is kind of the trajectory we see for a lot of guys who then try to come back to MLB after a couple good years in Japan, so we’ll see if that’s in the cards for him this offseason. The Cubs did not pursue former Rays closer Pete Fairbanks in free agency this offseason, and he has too frequently shown why with pitches like this:WILLIAM CONTRERAS WALKS IT OFF WITH A 3-RUN BOMB ?The Brewers SWEEP the Marlins! pic.twitter.com/zqpu7T5vDd
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) July 19, 2026 The Marlins farting away multiple games against the Brewers this weekend is obviously mostly bad news for themselves – they are tied for the final Wild Card spot, and have now lost six in a row – but I gotta tell you, it also sucks for the Cubs. They took two of three from the Twins this weekend, a perfectly acceptable outcome, and lost a game in the NL Central standings. MORE CUBS FROM BLEACHER NATION: Go Ad Free | Subscribe to the BN NewsletterHence then, the article about pitching accommodations what might have been kepley and long bradish sasaki and other cubs bullets was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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