The Chicago Cubs once seemed to be a clear contender for the playoffs early in the season when they were at the top of the NL Central and comfortably held a Wild Card spot.
This came even as they were battling injuries to their pitching staff and contributing lineup pieces.
It was thought that once those players returned to the roster healthy, it would make the Cubs that much better and give them a real chance to win their division.
Instead, the gap has never been wider.
Now sitting seven games behind the leading Milwaukee Brewers, they have at least been able to get into the third Wild Card position, tied with their rival St. Louis Cardinals, entering play on Tuesday.
As Chicago looks to get healthy eventually, they lost one of their potential depth options to call upon in case that ever happened as Julio Teheran elected to hit free agency after opting out of his minor league deal.
The two-time All-Star was never used by the Cubs after being signed in mid-April, probably because he posted an inflated 8.82 ERA with their Triple-A affiliate across eight starts.
However, he hit free agency with the thought there would be a team out there who might look to utilize him at the Major League level, no matter how poor his performance has been in 2024.
Now, he’s found his suitor.
According to Jon Heyman of The New York Post, Teheran has signed a deal with the Baltimore Orioles, an organization he was with from February 27 to March 23 this spring before he opted out of that contract after not making their Opening Day roster.
The 33-year-old could be a factor for the American League-contending Orioles, though, as they are now going to be without two of their starting pitchers who facing season-ending UCL surgeries.
For Chicago, this isn’t necessarily a huge loss as they clearly didn’t view Teheran as a viable option as they could have promoted him at different times with all the injuries and poor performances taking place within their pitching staff.
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