Jameson Taillon has been DFA’d by the Chicago Cubs, a decision that has been a long time coming (in my opinion) and also was not an easy one to make.
First of all, Jamo has been the worst version of himself all year. He has given up 25 home runs, which is the highest number among all qualified pitchers in the NL. He has always been someone who gives up a lot of home runs, seeing as he’s a fly ball pitcher that pitches mostly at Wrigley Field. This year has been especially bad though. He has an ERA of 5.92, the highest of his career, and his Barrel % is also the highest of his career, at 15.7%. He has always made his mark at creating weak fly balls with his breaking pitches, which he had done a good job of as a Cub. While he was still giving up home runs, he would often keep them to solo home runs. Unfortunately, his walk percentage and WHIP are up, so that means more baserunners and more runs for when the inevitable homerun happens. The Cubs are in the middle of a playoff push and have a real shot at catching the Brewers this year for the NL Central crown, they cannot afford to have an auto loss every 5th day.
Now, I would be amiss if I didn’t mention what he has done for the Cubs in the last few years. He has been a consistent arm in the rotation that you could count on to give you a respectable outing. In the playoffs last year, he was dominant and helped the Cubs get past the Padres in the Wild Card round. He also has been one of the best teammates and presence in the locker room, as seen by the outpouring of support he received after the announcement that he was no longer going to be on the team. I wish him nothing but the best and hope he can get another opportunity with an MLB club.
For now, Javier Assad will take his innings in the starting rotation, who I have been advocating for to start ahead of Jamo. He has done well this season in the opportunities he has had. With more innings expected, I feel as if there is a chance for regression, as the numbers show he benefits heavily from the defense he has behind him. He doesn’t give up a ton of .slug, and his walk% and barrel% are decent. But he doesn’t get a ton of swing and miss, so I think this will be the spot that the Cubs are going to trade for. The name that seems to get thrown around the most is Clay Holmes, who is still rehabbing from a broken leg but seems to be on track to come back in the season. Another name that has been in the media is Freddy Peralta, a longtime Cub-killer but is having quite a down year. Whichever direction the Cubs go in, hopefully it will yield the results that the organization is hoping for.
