Jameson Taillon Returning to Rotation Soon, Cubs Also Adding Julio Teheran

Jameson Taillon didn’t make a single spring start after being brought along slowly and then experiencing back spasms while warming up for what would have been his first appearance in Mesa. He has since made two rehab starts in the minors and should rejoin the rotation when the Cubs return to Chicago. Taillon threw 68 pitches over 3.2 scoreless innings for the Triple-A Iowa this past Friday and Craig Counsell told reporters the righty’s next start will be with the Cubs.

He could take the bump on Thursday, when the Cubs welcome the Marlins to kick off a seven-game homestand. That would give Taillon a little extra rest while letting Counsell lengthen the rotation a little, which was always the plan with Shōta Imanaga in particular. The most likely casualty of Taillon’s activation is Ben Brown, who came up to fill in for Justin Steele and could benefit from heading back to Iowa.

It’s not a matter of performance, as Brown has looked great in both his first official start and his bulk appearance, but the Cubs can be more deliberate about stretching him out in Triple-A. Or they could choose to go in a different direction, whether it’s a procedural move necessitated by injury or a more significant personnel decision.

The latter could be in play once they officially add righty Julio Teheran, who they reportedly signed shortly after he was DFA’d and granted free agency by the Mets. The longtime Brave pitched for Counsell with the Brewers last season, posting a 4.40 ERA over 71.2 innings across 14 appearances (11 starts). He made just one start for the Mets, going 2.2 innings and giving up four runs on six hits.

Never a hard thrower or big strikeout guy, Teheran sits around 90 mph with the sinker and he isn’t big on working in the zone. It’s hard for me to envision him serving as anything other than emergency depth in Iowa, where the rotation took a hit when Kohl Franklin left his Triple-A debut with an undisclosed injury, but I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

Update: Jesse Rogers confirmed that it’s a minor-league deal for Teheran.