Cubs option Javier Assad back to Triple-A Iowa

Assad finds himself right back in Chicago’s rotation with Edward Cabrera heading back to the injured list with a blister. The 29-year-old has posted a solid 3.59 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 53/21 K/BB ratio across 80 1/3 innings in the majors this season.

With Edward Cabrera returning from the injured list to join the Cubs’ rotation on Sunday, Assad once again gets squeezed off of the active roster. The 29-year-old hurler has compiled a solid 3.59 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and a 53/21 K/BB ratio over 80 1/3 innings in 21 appearances (10 starts) with the Cubs this season. He’ll almost assuredly get another opportunity with the Cubs before season’s end.

Assad gave up just a solo homer to Kyle Tucker, and that was it. The right-hander struck out just three against two walks, but he gave up a very reasonable six hard-hit balls in play in another impressive effort for the 29-year-old. Assad now has a 3.58 ERA on the season, a chance to continue to lower that mark comes over the weekend against the Nationals next Tuesday.

Assad racked up six strikeouts on the afternoon while allowing a pair of walks. The lone tally against him came on an RBI single by Bryan Torres in the second inning. The 29-year-old righty threw 83 pitches in the ballgame (53 strikes), getting seven whiffs and posting a CSW of 27 percent. He’ll try to get back in the win column as he totes a 3.75 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and a 48/18 K/BB ratio (69 2/3 innings) into Tuesday’s battle against the Dodgers.

It was supposed to be Shota Imanaga taking the ball, but that’s no longer happening. It’s possible he’s dealing with an injury or the Cubs want to give him some extra rest. It seems likely they wanted to have him face a lefty-heavy Yankees lineup on Friday evening instead. Fantasy managers should check back in case there are any unexpected developments in the next few days.

Assad gave up seven hits, walked none and struck out four. The 28-year-old right-hander gave up solo home runs to Nathaniel Lowe and Eugenio Suarez in the fourth inning, but otherwise kept Cincinnati off the scoreboard. Assad remains a risky streaming option as he takes a 4.11 ERA into the All-Star break.

Assad walked two and struck out five while throwing 64 percent of his pitches for strikes. He collected a 10 percent swinging strike rate and 27 percent CSW in what was a decidedly average performance. He commanded the zone well with his sinker and four-seamer, and he did have good vertical movement on the four-seamer today, which got him whiffs at the top of the zone. He struggled to command the cutter, and none of his other pitches were overly impactful. Assad should remain in the rotation with both Ben Brown (neck) and Edward Cabrera (hamstring) on the injured list, but he remains just a deep league streamer and a risky play against the Padres next week.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters Edward Cabrera will get the ball for his regularly scheduled start on Tuesday with Imanaga being pushed back to Wednesday’s twin bill instead. It’ll be Javier Assad drawing the starting assignment for the other doubleheader contest at Citi Field.

Pitching with a seven-run lead after the second inning, Assad cruised through this matchup with the Rockies at home. He lived in the zone with both his sinker and four seam fastball letting the opposing hitters make contact. In fact, those two pitches didn’t force a single whiff on 32 combined swings and Assad only forced two whiffs in total. His contact-heavy approach is perfect against poor lineups like this one. He’s scheduled for a two-start week coming up against the Mets and Brewers.

Assad allowed three hits, walked one and struck out five. He’s pitched 12 1/3 scoreless innings versus the Giants his last two times out, lowering his ERA from 5.88 to 3.99. Unfortunately, he’ll have to face a more forward-thinking team in the Rockies next time out. He’ll just have to prepare a little harder, most likely.