Edward Cabrera close to a return for Chicago Cubs?

The Chicago Cubs are playing some of their best baseball of the season right now and have cut into the Milwaukee Brewers lead in the NL Central. Going into Wednesday’s game in Washington, the Cubs are just four games back of the Brewers and are 8-2 in the past 10 games.

Chicago has done it with a combination of good pitching and good hitting, sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers last week and then taking a weekend series in Kansas City. As we hit the stretch run here in August, the Cubs could be getting some much-needed help as well.

It’s no secret that the Cubs have been hit hard with injuries, specifically pitching. However, they are close to getting some big arms back.

Edward Cabrera pushes for a return to Chicago Cubs

One of the Cubs’ big offseason acquisitions was landing Edward Cabrera via a trade with the Miami Marlins. Cabrera was pitching well before he got hurt but now he’s close to a return.

Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune noted that Cabrera and reliever Daniel Palencia were both in Double-A Knoxville on Wednesday. They both will be evaluated following their rehab pitching appearances in terms of when they can return.

With RHP Edward Cabrera coming off 3rd rehab outing last night (5 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 7 K) — the minimum Cubs wanted — Craig Counsell said “we’re getting to a decision point there, but no updated plan as of yet” on whether Cabrera will come off the IL vs. make another rehab start.

— Meghan Montemurro (@MegMontemurro) August 12, 2026

Cabrera was really good in Knoxville, throwing five innings of no-hit baseball and striking out seven batters in the process:

Edward Cabrera threw 5 innings of no-hit baseball in his rehab start in Knoxville tonight 5 IP | 0 H | 0 ER | 1 BB | 7 Ks pic.twitter.com/QQYAisXqHM

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) August 12, 2026

This is Cabrera’s third rehab start and he’s certainly making a push to return to the starting rotation.

As for Palencia, it was a rougher outing. He pitch just 2/3 of an inning, allowing 0 hits, three walks, and four earned runs while striking out just one batter. He threw 24 total pitches in the game. It’s not exactly an encouraging stat line for Palencia and may indicate he needs more time.

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