Rea in the rotation? Veteran could fill in for injured Assad

MESA, Ariz. -- When the Cubs signed Colin Rea to bolster their starting pitching depth, there appeared to be an outside chance for the veteran right-hander to crack the Opening Day rotation. Coming off the best year of his career in Milwaukee, where he previously played under Cubs manager Craig Counsell in 2023, why wouldn’t he have a shot?

That opportunity is still very much in play, and maybe more so, after Counsell announced Saturday that Javier Assad, the perceived favorite for the fifth rotation spot entering the spring, will miss the start of the season as he continues his progression through a left oblique strain.

“We want to give him a proper build-up -- that means a couple of bullpens, a couple of live [bullpen sessions] -- and then starting to ramp up as a starter,” Counsell said of Assad’s status. “That puts some days on the calendar and gets you into the season.”

Rea, 34, along with Ben Brown and Jordan Wicks, were among a small group of pitchers already vying for a spot in the rotation before Assad’s injury, and while Counsell is optimistic that Assad’s setback isn’t a long-term issue, it sets the stage for an intriguing battle for the remainder of camp.

Regardless of how it shapes up, Rea figures to play an important role for Chicago.

In his second start of the spring on Saturday, Rea pitched three scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out a pair in the Cubs’ 7-4 win over the Guardians at Sloan Park. After allowing a one-out double to Tyler Freeman in the first, Rea retired seven of the final nine men he faced to end his afternoon.

“I felt really good,” Rea said. “The goals were to get that pitch count going and to get to three innings, so I was happy about that. Overall, pretty good.”

The versatile Rea, who inked a one-year, $5 million deal with the Cubs in January, has experience as both a starter and reliever, with 94 career appearances, 76 of them starts. He’s fared much better coming out of the bullpen, with a 2.93 ERA in 46 innings across 18 career relief appearances, but his performance for much of ’24 proves he’s plenty capable in a starting role.

Through his first 24 appearances (21 starts) Rea owned a 3.52 ERA before a rough stretch to end the season ballooned that number to 4.29 ERA across 167 2/3 innings with 135 strikeouts, both of which were career highs. Rea was similarly solid under a Counsell-led Brewers club in ’23, with a 4.55 ERA in his return to the Majors after a one-year stint in Japan with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in 2022.

“I think every year you come into Spring Training and you’re like, ‘Can I still get guys out?’” Rea said. “But seeing the results we’ve had so far this Spring Training and how I feel body-wise and the way my stuff is, I feel like we’re in a good spot.”

A large part of Rea’s revitalization is thanks to the addition of a sweeper into his pitch arsenal that opposing batters hit .159 against last season (17-for-107) while slugging a meager .234. Rea noted after his Saturday outing that he’s throwing a different slider this season, a pitch that generated some swing-and-miss against the Guardians.

“We didn’t throw any until that last inning, I probably threw three or four,” Rea said. “It felt good. I think we got a swing and miss and one of them was a strikeout, a foul tip that Carson [Kelly] caught.”

The Cubs don’t feel there’s any need to rush Assad’s progression, as he’ll likely slot into the fifth rotation spot when he does return. Counsell said Assad is on track to throw a bullpen by the end of next week, at which point the club will be able to assess what his next steps will be before heading to Japan for the Tokyo Series on March 18-19.

Whether Rea gets an early chance to prove himself in Assad’s place with Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon and Justin Steele projected to hold down the top four spots, the North Siders will still have plenty of opportunities to see what Rea can do as a starter.

“We signed Colin knowing he is going to make a lot of starts for us,” Counsell said. “He’s definitely a part of that answer.”