Edward Cabrera’s latest setback is a full‑blown front‑office failure

Edward Cabrera’s outing last Sunday after his stint on the IL was a stuff made of nightmares. Not only did he get rocked, but it was also revealed after the game he had another blister.

The Cubs were in scramble mode today, as multiple pitchers were called up. Cabrera goes to another IL stint after just one start. At this point, the Cubs aren’t dealing with bad luck. They’re dealing with a pitcher they cannot rely on. And the consequences stretch far beyond one disastrous outing.

Cabrera’s blister issues have officially crossed the threshold from “annoying” to “career‑defining.” This latest flare‑up puts him back on the IL. He won’t return to the rotation, and they must treat him as a bullpen‑only option the rest of this season. 

Cabrera said he wants to help the team win, including going to the bullpen, which sounds nice and contrite. But there’s no guarantee he can stay healthy in shorter stints either. Even if he pitches out of the bullpen after his latest IL stint, will the Cubs have any idea what version of Cabrera they’re getting? Can they even trust him?

Jed Hoyer’s gamble on Cabrera looks like a failure

Cubs fans will remember Jed Hoyer was pursuing another Marlins pitcher, Jesus Luzardo, back in 2024. But the medical red flags spooked the front office enough to walk away. The Marlins ended up trading him to the Phillies. During the 2025 campaign, compiling a 15-7 record and 3.92 ERA with 216 strikeouts. He signed a 5-year, $135 million extension in March, and he is 11-5 with a 3.23 ERA and went to his first All-Star Game this season.

Meanwhile, the Cubs acquired Cabrera as a long‑term rotation piece who could anchor the staff a year later. Though he dealt with blisters with the Miami Marlins, Hoyer gambled that Cabrera’s stuff and upside would outweigh the risk. 

Right now, the trade looks like a massive failure. Which part of Luzardo’s medical report made Hoyer walk away? Why wasn’t Cabrera’s history of blisters a problem?  

Here’s the part that makes the Cabrera situation borderline catastrophic for the Cubs: He becomes a free agent after the 2028 season.

And look at the timeline:

• 2026: A complete wash — injuries, inconsistency, and now another IL stint
• 2027: Expected to be wiped out by the looming strike
• 2028: His final year under team control 

That means the Cubs realistically have only one more season to figure out what Cabrera actually is.

Further complicating things for the Cubs is that there are many starting pitchers who will become free agents at the end of the season: Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, and three pitchers Hoyer recently acquired: David Peterson, Kevin Gausman, and Clay Holmes.

Both Gausman and Boyd are 36 next season, Imanaga and Holmes turn 34, and Peterson will be 32. The Cubs might still have to re‑sign a few of them, age concerns or not. That’s because no one in their minor league system is remotely ready to contribute right now. That explains why they drafted 15 collegiate pitchers in this year’s draft.

The entire point of landing a controllable pitcher is availability, durability, and reliability. Instead, the Cubs have a pitcher who can’t stay healthy enough to stay in the rotation. And they have no realistic path to a long‑term commitment.

But can Hoyer afford to trade away top-hitting prospects like Ethan Conrad, Kane Kepley, and Josiah Hartshon for another shot at a controllable pitcher? With Luzardo’s success in Philadelphia, Hoyer will likely feel more pressure moving forward.