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Perhaps the most alarming detail from Sharma’s report is that future surgery to address Brown’s lingering neck issue remains a possibility. The 27-year-old was in the midst of a breakthrough campaign before a stress reaction in his neck landed him on the injured list in mid-June. He appeared to be making progress toward a late-season return before a recurrence of symptoms ultimately ended those hopes. The fact that he still hasn’t been cleared to begin an offseason throwing program is another concerning development. Unfortunately, the impending lockout figures leave fantasy managers without any meaningful updates on his prognosis.

The 26-year-old hurler threw in a complex game early last week and once again experienced renewed symptoms from the stress reaction in his neck. After consulting with doctors, the decision was made to shut him down for the season. If remains to be seen what type of surgical intervention, if any, will be required before he’s able to return to the mound in 2027.

Brown threw in a complex league game on Tuesday, and apparently the stress reaction in his neck didn’t respond well. According to McGregor, Brown is planning to fly with the team back to Chicago and consult with doctors to determine what’s next. It sounds like his 2026 season could be over.

He’s due for one more live BP session first. Brown, on the shelf since late June with a neck strain, is hoping to rejoin the Cubs as a starting pitcher next month, though depending on how his rehab goes and how the rest of the rotation is doing, he could be brought back as a reliever instead.

The Cubs having to place both Ben Brown and Edward Cabrera (hamstring) on the injured list on the same day is quite a blow. They’ll get Matthew Boyd (knee) back tomorrow, but this rotation will still be super short-handed. The hope is that Brown won’t be sidelined for much longer than his two weeks.

Brown’s knuckle curve baffled the Jays, who whiffed on the pitch 10 times in 22 swings. He allowed eight hard-hit balls but did more than enough to get the win after being staked to an early 7-0 lead as the Cubs bludgeoned Kevin Gausman. Brown hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in a start so far, and it’s getting harder and harder to leave him out of the top-40 starting pitcher conversation. He’ll get a tasty matchup against the Mets next time out.

Brown allowed seven hits and walked three, which usually amounts to more than one run, but the Giants never managed a hit with RISP tonight. Brown moved to 3-2 with a 1.74 ERA. He’ll unfortunately miss the home series against the Rockies next week and likely make his next start Friday against the Blue Jays.

Brown allowed just one hit and one walk (plus a HBP). He’s sporting a 1.44 ERA and a 34/8 K/BB in 31 1/3 innings since moving into the rotation last month. Next up for him is a start in Coors against the Rockies. While some fantasy leaguers might be able to do better in their weekly lineup, he’s still at least an adequate mixed-league option there.

It’s impressive just how efficient Brown has been since moving from the pen to the rotation. He got his 21 outs today on just 82 pitches, throwing 11 pitches or fewer in five of his seven innings of work. Brown is 2-2 with a 1.92 ERA in his five starts and 12 relief appearances and ought to be rostered everywhere by this point. He’ll face the Giants next Friday.

He generated 16 whiffs today and needed only 83 pitches to get his 18 outs. Brown is still winless as a starter, but he’s allowed a total of four runs over 19 innings in his four outings since moving from the bullpen to the rotation. He’s worth rostering in mixed leagues at this point, and he should be playable again versus the Cardinals this weekend.

Brown struck out six and generated 15 whiffs on 42 swings tonight, but he allowed seven hits and nine hard-hit balls. Still, that’s not a disaster. Brown got up to 82 pitches tonight after throwing 46 and 65 in his first two starts, both of which saw him pitch four scoreless innings. This would be a good time to pick him up in leagues in which he’s still available, as he has a two-start week against the Pirates and Cardinals coming up.

The 26-year-old right-hander allowed just one hit and one walk on the evening. Brown got stretched out to 65 pitches in this one, throwing 40 of those for strikes and getting nine swings and misses, leading to a CSW of 29 percent. Brown has proven that he belongs in the Cubs’ rotation and needs to be rostered and started in all fantasy leagues for Tuesday’s divisional showdown against the Brewers.

The Cubs’ starting pitcher corps has been depleted by injuries, so they called on Brown to return to their rotation and he delivered them four quality innings. He leaned on his knuckle-curve as his primary pitch and it forced five of his nine total swings-and-misses. Also, his fastball didn’t lose much velocity despite him throwing 46 pitches, the most he’s thrown in a single outing since March 31st. Javier Assad threw bulk innings in relief later in this game and it feels like these two could be in a piggy-back situation moving forward. If Brown sticks in the rotation for another turn, he’ll face the Braves in Atlanta.

Brown has been outstanding in a multi-inning role out of the Cubs’ bullpen this season, registering a 2.10 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and a 24/8 K/BB ratio over 25 2/3 innings in his 12 appearances. He has already pitched twice this week though, throwing 24 and 25 pitches on Saturday and Monday respectively, so it’s unlikely that he’ll work much deeper than three or four innings on Friday. For that reason, he’s unlikely to deliver much value as a streaming option for fantasy purposes.

After seven scoreless innings from Shota Imanaga, Brown took over in the eighth and gave the Cubs two clean frames to close it out for his first save of the season. The 26-year-old right-hander has been incredibly effective in this multi-inning relief role, posting a 1.82 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and a 23/7 K/BB ratio across 24 2/3 innings. Daniel Palencia (oblique) is expected to be activated in the coming days to resume closing duties.

Brown, who stranded the bases loaded after coming in with none out in the eighth, was robbed in broad daylight. Even though Brown had thrown just 11 pitches to get five outs, the Cubs brought in Milner to face Gavin Sheets with the bases empty. They had to know the Padres would counter, but since Milner wound up striking out pinch-hitter Ramón Laureano to end the game, it all worked out for Craig Counsell. Brown is still looking for his first save, and with Daniel Palencia close to returning, it might not materialize any time soon.

The 26-year-old hurler scattered two hits on the afternoon and did not allow a base on balls. The only scoring done against him came in the opening inning as Brenton Doyle smacked a one-out triple and scored on a ground ball off the bat of Hunter Goodman. Brown needed a strong showing on Saturday to keep in the mix for a roster spot, and he certainly delivered. For the spring, he holds a 3.38 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and a sparkling 15/3 K/BB ratio across 10 2/3 innings.

The right-hander also issued three free passes in the ballgame while striking out three. Brown struggled with his command in the opening inning, issuing a bases-loaded walk to Gavin Sheets. He allowed another pair in the third inning as Nick Castellanos delivered an RBI single and then another run scored on a wild pitch. Brown threw just 29 of his 48 pitches for strikes in the ballgame, getting five whiffs and posting a CSW of 25 percent. If he continues to struggle like this, Brown is likely ticketed for Triple-A Iowa to start the season.

Barring a couple of injuries, Brown’s only path to making the Cubs is as a reliever, but the team is keeping him stretched out for now. If all goes as hoped for the Cubs, there’s a good chance he’ll end the season as a setup man. First, though, he might open up in Triple-A Iowa’s rotation.

Brown’s inclusion represents the lone change for Chicago from their Wild Card Series roster against the Padres. The 26-year-old offers some additional long relief depth for the extended best-of-five series over Rogers, who was merely additional left-handed middle relief depth behind Drew Pomeranz and Caleb Thielbar at this juncture.