Edward Cabrera’s return to Cubs’ rotation appears to be short-lived

CHICAGO — Edward Cabrera’s noncompetitive start in his return from the injured list — combined with the overall inconsistency of his first season with the Chicago Cubs — is testing the organization’s patience.

After Sunday’s 11-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field, Cubs manager Craig Counsell was noncommittal when asked if Cabrera will stay in the rotation.

“We’re going to have to talk about that,” Counsell said.

In that postgame media session, Counsell did not mention anything about Cabrera dealing with a blister, a recurring issue that had placed him on the IL earlier this season. The focus was supposed to be on Cabrera coming back from the strained left hamstring that just sidelined him for nearly two months.

But when reporters gathered around his locker minutes later, Cabrera showed them a bandage on his right middle finger and said through an interpreter that he “100 percent” expects to keep his spot in the rotation.

The club had executed a series of roster moves to activate and accommodate Cabrera, optioning valuable swingman Javier Assad to Triple-A Iowa and bumping one-time All-Star David Peterson to the bullpen.

As the Cubs reincorporated a starter with a 5.10 ERA, the messaging ahead of Sunday’s first pitch became clear.

“It’s go time,” Counsell said before Sunday’s game. “And I think Edward understands that.”

Cabrera responded by giving up seven runs and failing to finish the fourth inning of an ugly loss.

While every pitcher coming off the injured list needs an adjustment period, Cabrera simply hasn’t been effective enough when healthy to earn an extended runway.

Against the Cardinals, Cabrera gave up three doubles, three walks and Alec Burleson’s two-run homer in the first inning. That set the tone as the Cubs lost this rivalry series and fell five games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central.

“It didn’t go well,” Counsell said. “The lack of swing-and-miss, again, is concerning. He got some big swing-and-miss in some of his rehab starts. To me, it looks like it’s the separation between the changeup and the fastball right now. The hitter is not showing you that it’s a lot.”

Cabrera simply has not lived up to the potential the Cubs saw when they acquired him from the Miami Marlins last winter. He has made only four quality starts for the Cubs, and none since May 4. He described the blister issue as an early flare-up in Sunday’s game that worsened over those 3 2/3 innings.

“It’s something that I’ve dealt with before,” Cabrera said via an interpreter. “I’m just getting ready for my next outing.”

For now, the Cubs are lining up Shota Imanaga, Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes to start the crosstown series against the Chicago White Sox that begins Monday at the Friendly Confines. Matthew Boyd remains an integral part of the group, and Counsell would prefer to keep it as a five-man rotation at this juncture.

Peterson helped stabilize a decimated rotation after getting traded from the New York Mets in late June. The Cubs are 6-2 in the lefty’s eight starts with his new team.

Assad, meanwhile, has been a glue guy for the pitching staff since his major-league debut in 2022, going 24-13 with a 3.46 ERA over 411 1/3 innings.

“At this point, the decision we made was just to preserve every pitcher we could,” Counsell said. “Certainly, in Javy’s shoes, that doesn’t feel fair. But from a depth perspective, this was a way to preserve everybody and keep maximum depth.”