Cubs Will Use 6-Man Rotation With Montgomery Expected Back Thursday

“There’s different things we can do,” Maddon said Friday after Alec Mills shut down the Reds in his starting debut. “We’re discussing a couple different things.”

That “thing” will be the Cubs going to a six-man rotation when Montgomery returns from the disabled list.

Alec Mills will get another start when the Cubs face the New York Mets on Wednesday. Mills impressed many by striking out eight batters and only walking one against the Reds during his Cubs starting debut. The 26-year-old showcased five pitches with equal distribution: four-seam, sinker, change, slider, and curve. While Mills’ numbers in Iowa haven’t particularly appealing (4.84 ERA, 4.20 FIP), just his pure “stuff” alone looks encouraging.

The big news here is Mike Montgomery will return next week from a brief should inflammation injury. He’s expected to take the mound on Thursday against the Atlanta Braves, marking a total of 13 days he will have spent on the DL.

The current plan is to have the Cubs use a six-man rotation just one time, but as Tony Andracki said in the above tweet, the plan is not finalized. This is just my speculation, but we heard Jose Quintana was experiencing shoulder fatigue around the All-Star Break. And with Q’s recent underwhelming outings and lower velocity, I can’t help but think the Cubs lefty is still dealing with the same lethargy.

For now, though, the Cubs will go through next week by utilizing Alec Mills and Mike Montgomery in a six-man rotation.

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