The news of Javier Assad suffering an early setback with a possible oblique injury was a bummer, though it may open up opportunities for the Cubs to look to someone else as a primary starter. Despite the competence of his numbers over the parts of three big-league seasons, there’s almost always a sense during Assad’s starts that everything could go sideways at any moment. His strikeout and walk rates are worse than league average, and his combination of walks and hits allowed means he’s constantly having to work around baserunners.
While he’s had enough experience at this point to consider that at least as much a matter of skill as luck, the Cubs already have too many starters who get by largely on guile.