Chicago Cubs: Counsell’s not messing around—win or get out of the way

The Chicago Cubs are on full-time “go time,” per manager Craig Counsell. And that means that there’s little time to consider egos, hang-ups, or to give someone time to work through a poor performance.

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Coming into Sunday’s game with the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park, the Cubs had lost two in a row and had seen the first place Milwaukee Brewers lengthen their division lead over them by seven games. The Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres had also climbed to within two and four games, respectively, of overtaking them atop the NL Wild Card standings.

Imanaga gets early hook

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So, with that in mind, Counsell was quick to pull starter Shota Imanaga from the game after he showed that he clearly didn’t have his best stuff. The southpaw had given up two runs on five hits and two walks in two innings and 72 pitches—including a leadoff home run to Randy Arozarena—and was struggling uncharacteristically with control.

When Ian Happ hit a grand slam in the top of the third to put the Cubs ahead 5-to-2, Counsell made the move to go with swingman Aaron Civale. Rather than take the sudden lead as breathing room to give Imanaga more of a chance to get things together, he moved on to try and secure the win. It was clearly the right move to make as Civale would deliver four shutout innings and the Cubs would go on to thump the Mariners 19-to-2.

“It was just a bad day [for Imanaga],” Counsell told reporters, pointing out the lefty’s solid last outing against the White Sox. “You could just tell the misses were far bigger than normal. The velocity was down a little bit from the beginning. We’ll just have to regroup.

“This was kind of isolated right now, and obviously, he gets to prove it the next time out.”

The reason behind the quick hook

There may be a little bit more to Counsell’s decision than simply getting out the hook for a pitcher who just didn’t have it, though. Last season, Imanaga’s late-season dip in velocity came just ahead of a full-on collapse that eventually saw the Japanese star scratched from his last playoff start.

In 2025, Counsell and the Cubs had no choice but to ride with Imanaga for as long as they could before removing him from the starting pitching circle of trust. They just didn’t have many replacement options. In 2026, however, the team does have a plan B, C, and D.

Civale and Colin Rea can both do multiple innings in relief as well as spot start if necessary. Javier Assad, who can do the same, is just one phone call away in Iowa.

“This is why we have some length in the bullpen,” Counsell said. “As soon as Ian hit the home run, honestly, my thought was, ‘If Shota’s in trouble, we’re going to go.’”

Come playoff time, when the Cubs go with a four-man rotation, there will be even more depth in the bullpen with David Peterson likely moving there and maybe an Edward Cabrera option floating about.

For Imanaga—and everyone else—the message is clear. Counsell is going for the wins and if you can’t help with that, you will kindly step aside.

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