Cubs send reliever Maton to injured list, activate Suzuki for first time this season

The Cubs placed struggling reliever Phil Maton on the 15-day injured list with right knee tendinitis.

Maton, 33, was expected to be a key piece to the Cubs bullpen after signing a two-year deal worth $11.5 million. But he's posted a 13.50 ERA in just four innings pitched. He took the mound in each of the first two games at Tampa Bay this week and allowed 2 earned runs both times.

“Obviously, he was pitching with it, but I think we saw real effects to it in his last outing in Tampa,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “His velocity was down. It was just a case of not being able to sit into his back leg and drive off the mound, and it clearly affected him. We need to get rid of that.”

Maton is not a high-velocity pitcher. The cutter is his most frequent pitch and it's dropped from 90.6 mph last year to 89.2 this season. According to StatCast, he stopped throwing a four-seam fastball in 2022.

Right-hander Ethan Roberts will take Maton's roster spot. Between spring training, Triple-A Iowa and one appearance for the Cubs, Roberts has a 1.63 ERA this year.

Another Friday transaction saw Seiya Suzuki activated from the injured list. Dylan Carlson was designated for assignment.

No Horton regrets

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer was asked Friday if there is anything he would do differently with Cade Horton, who will have his second Tommy John surgery in roughly five years.

“Looking back, I don't have any thoughts or regrets about how we handled him because we were so conservative,” Hoyer said. “That's the nature of pitching in 2026. You have to build up a lot of depth and we have to have a next-man-up mentality.”

Hoyer mentioned Horton didn't pitch after being drafted in 2022, was limited to 88 innings in '23 and missed most of the '24 season with a lat injury. Last year, he made his major-league debut, had huge success and threw 118 innings before being shut down in late September with a broken rib.

“You hope that kind of surgery lasts longer,” Hoyer said. “In this case he broke down again. The hope is he'll have the repair and get back to where he was. You have to play. Guys who are throwing 96, 97 (mph) with great stuff, you have to let them go pitch.”

Extra pitcher on hold

Even with Cade Horton out for the year, the Cubs will have an extra starter when Matthew Boyd returns from the injured list. Colin Rea and Javier Assad both won games in Tampa filling in for Horton and Boyd, and Justin Steele is on track to return from Tommy John surgery in June or July.

Will the Cubs try to add another veteran? Former White Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito is a name often mentioned. Some other free agents, still unsigned with a positive WAR, are Nestor Cortes, Tyler Anderson, Jon Gray, Frankie Montas and ex-Cub Marcus Stroman.

“I think we're always looking externally and there's still guys available, so we'll certainly have conversations,” said Jed Hoyer, who added that he doesn't see adding a veteran pitcher as a high priority right now. “I feel like we went into the season with some depth in the rotation.”

Wiggins pushed back

The Cubs top pitching prospect, right-hande Jaxon Wiggins, should be part of that mound depth. His scheduled start for Iowa on Friday was pushed back, but Jed Hoyer said it's no cause for alarm.

“He was just dealing with some soreness; sort of early season stuff,” Hoyer said. “You don't want to push guys in April, so we thought the right thing to do was push his start back a little bit.”