After a busy trade deadline that brought in four pitchers, the Cubs may soon have a very different bullpen picture once the injured list starts clearing out. Two veteran relievers, Hoby Milner and Shelby Miller, have both taken another step toward getting back to the big-league club.
Milner’s path back looks the cleanest. The left-hander has been out since a strange late-June setback in Milwaukee, when he needed an emergency appendectomy.
Before landing on the IL, he had put together a 3.53 ERA in 38 appearances, and he was getting plenty of help from the defense behind him. A return by season’s end has long felt likely.
Chicago also has a fairly obvious opening waiting if Milner is ready. Caleb Thielbar has struggled badly since the start of June, putting up a 6.65 ERA and 5.74 FIP, and he hasn’t been effective enough lately to make the decision especially complicated.
Because Milner is another lefty, the Cubs could create room by designating Thielbar for assignment. Since both pitchers are on one-year deals, there’s no major long-term ripple effect to worry about.
Miller’s situation is the one that really stands out. The veteran right-hander signed a two-year deal with a club option for 2028 in the spring, and at the time, the expectation was that he would miss the entire 2026 season while recovering from the UCL and flexor tendon surgery he had last October. Now, though, a big-league return this season is no longer off the table.
He started his rehab assignment with the Iowa Cubs this weekend and showed encouraging life, touching 96 MPH on the radar gun. Even so, the Cubs have a few other injured arms working back as well - Daniel Palencia, Hunter Harvey, Edward Cabrera and Justin Steele - so there’s a chance they take a patient approach with Miller rather than rush him.
If he keeps moving forward without a setback, the former 2009 first-rounder could give Craig Counsell another bullpen option as October approaches.
In Other News...
Cubs Could Face An Offseason Loss That Would Hit At The Worst Time
The Cubs spent the trade deadline trying to strengthen a roster that still has plenty of offseason uncertainty ahead, and that makes the front office just as important as the lineup. With several key players headed toward free agency, Chicago is already bracing for a winter of decisions, and there is a growing sense that the organization may have to navigate more than just roster turnover before Opening Day arrives.
Carter Hawkins has become part of that conversation, with recent reporting suggesting other clubs are keeping an eye on the Cubs general manager as they weigh their own front-office changes. Nothing official has happened yet, but for a team trying to build on its deadline upgrades, the possibility of losing a top executive at the same time the roster is being reshaped would add another layer of pressure to an already delicate offseason. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs May Have An October Bullpen Option Nobody Saw Coming
The Cubs went into the trade deadline looking for help on the mound, and they emerged with a staff that suddenly has a lot more depth than it did a few weeks ago. Between the additions made in July and the pitchers now working their way back from injury, the late-season picture in Chicago looks a lot sturdier, with October increasingly the backdrop for every move the club makes.
One name worth keeping in the conversation is Shelby Miller, whose rehab work in the Arizona Complex League has drawn attention because of how sharp he has looked there. The veteran right-hander, once an All-Star and a familiar face around the league, is trying to reestablish himself after surgery last October and could give the Cubs a postseason bullpen wrinkle if everything keeps trending in the right direction. [Read more 🡒]