Ben Brown’s return to the Chicago Cubs is moving, but not nearly fast enough to count on much help in the near term.
Brown has been sidelined since June with a neck issue that the Cubs have said is similar to the problem he dealt with in 2024. That earlier injury cost him most of his rookie season because of a benign bone tumor. This week, the encouraging part was that the Cubs said Brown was symptom-free, and they also said they had a better handle on how to manage the neck issue after what they learned from the 2024 experience.
Even with that progress, the shutdown was significant. Brown was held completely out for a stretch, and he was only barely cleared to start throwing on Tuesday.
Before the injury, Brown had become a major part of Chicago’s rotation plan after stepping in during May, when Matthew Boyd went down with a freak knee injury that kept him out for more than a month. Brown delivered in a big way over eight starts, putting up a 1.70 ERA, a 25.0 K%, a 0.90 WHIP, and giving up just one home run across 42.1 innings while holding hitters to a .179 average.
His overall line was strong too: a 1.85 ERA in 20 games, split between bullpen work and those eight starts. That’s why the idea of getting him back carried real weight for the Cubs, especially with the rotation needing every bit of help it can get as they try to maximize their postseason chances.
But Craig Counsell’s latest update cooled that optimism. Brown is throwing regularly at the Arizona training complex, but he is still a long way from anything resembling game readiness.
As Counsell put it: “He’s kind of a pre-spring training pitcher, essentially. Bullpens are a ways away.”
That leaves Chicago in a cautious spot with Brown. Based on Counsell’s comments, a return may not come until mid-September at the earliest, and even then he likely won’t be stretched out enough to work as a starter. If he does get back on the mound this season, it would probably be in relief.
It’s not the kind of update Cubs fans were hoping for, but any path back at all is better than none. The only thing left now is hoping Brown avoids any setbacks.
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