Chicago Cubs: Bad news update on Ben Brown, per insider notes

Early last season, when the Chicago Cubs lost emerging ace Cade Horton to an elbow injury and were dealing with inconsistency from other starters, Ben Brown stepped up and came through, big time.

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Moving from long relief to the rotation, the 27-year-old became the ace that nobody expected, posting a 1.70 ERA through 8 starts and 42.1 innings in stretch where he was one of the most effective starters in baseball.

Then, the neck issue that cut short his 2024 season returned. He pitched his last 2026 game for the Cubs on June 19. Despite taking some time off to heal and readjust his delivery, Brown could never quite get healthy and was ultimately shut down for good in August.

Bad news on Ben Brown

Chicago Cubs, Cubs News, Ben Brown — May 25, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Ben Brown (32) throws a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

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The hope for 2027—amid a desperate need for starting pitching—was that the lanky right-hander could come into the season healthy and ready to contribute every fifth day. That doesn’t look to be in the cards right now.

Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic recently shared a bit of disappointing news regarding Brown’s health and the likelihood of a healthy, productive path to a full 2027 return.

Per Sharma:

“Ben Brown, whose season ended in June after a recurring neck injury, is the biggest question mark. He still hasn’t been cleared to throw and surgery hasn’t been ruled out. At minimum, his immediate future is in question.”

From optimism to pessimism

Chicago Cubs Ben Brown — Apr 5, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Ben Brown (32) reacts in the sixth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images

When Brown was first put on the shelf in June, there was optimism that he could bounce back by the end of the season. At the very least, it was viewed as a positive that he and the Cubs could now pinpoint the C5 vertebra as the specific source of his recurring neck issues. With that knowledge, the hope was that the Cubs staff could tinker with Brown’s mechanics a bit to take some pressure off that weak spot.

“I’m optimistic. The team’s optimistic,” Brown said back in June. “I think the biggest thing is just figuring out how to not let this happen again. Ultimately, the bone can heal and I can come back this year and it all can be great, and I can throw some really good innings and contribute to this awesome team, and we’re going to go a long way.”

“That’s where this differs from 2024,” Brown added. “We know exactly what the injury is. We know exactly how it needs to be handled. It’s still unique in a baseball perspective, but there’s a lot more direction and there’s a very clear plan. There’s no, ‘It could be this, it could be this, we’re going to try to push here.’ There’s none of that. It’s very clear, which is good.”

Unfortunately, the Cubs couldn’t get Brown to the point where they felt comfortable trying to put any sort of workload on him. And, apparently, not much has changed since they shut him down.

At this point, it looks like Brown can’t be included in any of the team’s pitching plans for 2027. Anything they do get from him has to be seen as pure bonus.

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