Given the recent season-ending injury to Justin Steele, the Cubs could use Javier Assad¡¯s presence in their rotation.
However, it appears Assad, who is making his way back from a mild left oblique strain, may have suffered a setback during his rehab start on Tuesday. Making his second start for Triple-A Iowa, Assad left the game prior to the fifth inning after grabbing at his side while warming up.
To that point, Assad had thrown four innings on 67 pitches. He had allowed two runs while striking out five batters. His first rehab start came on April 15, when he permitted one run over 3 1/3 innings for Iowa.
The 27-year-old, who suffered his oblique strain back in February, was a productive member of Chicago¡¯s rotation last season. He recorded a 3.73 ERA over 147 innings (29 starts).