The Chicago Cubs have shut down rookie pitcher Ben Brown “for the time being,” manager Craig Counsell said to the media following the team on Monday, including the Chicago Sun-Times.
Brown, who was called up early this season when ace Justin Steele went on the injured list after Opening Day, has been on the 60-day injured list since he was transferred there on July 26 to make room for catcher Christian Bethancourt.
The Cubs, one game under .500 and fighting for the final Wild Card playoff berth in the National League, were preparing to play the Cleveland Guardians on Monday.
Brown suffered a neck strain. Counsell said there is no timetable for him to start throwing again, but noted Chicago wants the right-hander “symptom-free” before he starts throwing again.
For now, the Cubs don’t plan to do more for Brown than have him rest.
At one time, the 24-year-old was one of their top prospects, per MLB Pipeline and Baseball America. Since his call-up, he has pitched in 15 games and has gone 1-3 with a 3.58 ERA in eight starts and seven relief appearances. He has 64 strikeouts and 19 walks in 55.1 innings.
He last pitched on June 8 against the Cincinnati Reds, where he threw four innings and gave up three earned runs in a loss. He struck out three and walked one. He lost his last two decisions before ending up on the injured list.
Before this, Chicago had been ramping up Brown. After resuming throwing in June, he began more intense throwing sessions on July 19 and then went to Arizona, where he threw another bullpen to end July.
At that point, Counsell said he needed to throw to hitters and go on a rehab assignment before he could be considered for activation. That process would take at least two weeks.
Brown was a 33rd-round pick of the Philadelphia Phillies in 2017 out of Ward Melville High School in East Setauket, NY. The Cubs acquired him in August of 2022 when they traded reliever David Robertson to the Phils.
From there, Brown continued to work through Chicago’s minor league system as he pitched for Tennessee in 2022 and 2023 before he earned a promotion to Triple-A Iowa after four starts with the Smokies last year.
With Iowa, Brown solidified his credentials as a prospect to watch as he went 6-8 with a 5.33 ERA in 22 games, 15 of which were starts. He struck out 100 and walked 51 in 72.2 innings.
