Overview
- The team announced that follow-up testing found a stress reaction in Brown’s left neck and he was placed on the 15-day injured list retroactive to June 21 after the issue surfaced during a bullpen session following his June 19 start.
- Manager Craig Counsell said Brown will have limited activity for about a month before being reevaluated and that the right-hander is seeking additional medical opinions.
- Brown had been a breakout performer this season with a 1.85 ERA across 68 innings, so his likely multi-week absence removes one of the Cubs’ best starting options.
- Chicago has responded by activating Matthew Boyd and trading for David Peterson from the Mets while also claiming swing options, but president Jed Hoyer warned that the trade market is tight ahead of the Aug. 3 deadline.
- If Brown is cleared in late July he would still need a progressive buildup of bullpen work, live batting practice and rehab starts, which makes a mid-August return a best-case projection and raises urgency for roster decisions in the near term.