The Chicago Cubs‘ offense might be raging in power, but their pitching? That’s hanging by a thread. What’s interesting is that many of these concerns could have been avoided if they had acquired Jesús Luzardo–the very same player they surprisingly passed on. After going through his medical records and spotting some concerns with his elbow and back, the Cubs pulled out of an almost-done trade deal with the then-Miami Marlins pitcher, according to The Athletic‘s Ken Rosenthal.

Fast forward to today, and Luzardo ended up with the Philadelphia Phillies, making the Cubs’ decision look worse by the day.

Since joining the Phillies, Luzardo has been simply electric. Through his first five starts, the 27-year-old left-hander has posted a sharp 2.08 ERA across 30.1 innings. But that’s not all the magic he is bringing to Philadelphia.

Luzardo is striking out hitters at a 10.7 K/9 rate and generating a 31.8 % chase rate, placing him in the 76th percentile league-wide. The most notable difference right now is the $6.22 million star’s four-seamer, which has come back to life. It’s helping Luzardo dominate right out of the gate, and his 11-strikeout debut at Citizens Bank Park is proof of that. This is certainly not what the Cubs had in mind when they let this trade slip away, especially since they desperately needed that help in their starting rotation.

After losing Justin Steele, and even with Sota Imanaga in the mix, a one-man army isn’t going to save them. For the Cubs, this isn’t great news, because if Chicago wants to play in October, they need to know they’re up against top-tier arms. The Phillies, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the San Diego Padres all have blazing rotations, and the Cubs might not be able to match that firepower.

To make matters worse, the player the Cubs were counting on to bring relief to the rotation can’t do that anymore. This is a gut punch for the Cubs–something they didn’t see coming.

Cubs’ rotation in shambles

Just when the rotation situation was already looking shaky, Friday’s news came as a huge blow to the team. Manager Craig Counsell confirmed that Javier Assad has a Grade 2 oblique strain. What’s worse, it happened during a rehab start, meaning he’s not just delayed in returning to the rotation–he’s back to square one. There’s no timetable now, and there are no quick fixes, just pure frustration.

Initially, the plan was for Assad to miss only a month. But now, after his second rehab outing at Triple-A Iowa, it looks like he will be out at least for another month, if no longer. This stings for the Cubs because before the setback, Assad was throwing pretty well: five strikeouts and just one run allowed in 3.1 innings his first time out. Naturally, the team was counting on him to help stabilize the pitching staff.

At the end of the day, the 27-year-old has shown his potential in every role from the start to relief and more. So, after Steele, Assad was the next logical man up. Last season, he posted a 3.73 ERA and 124 strikeouts in 147 innings across 29 starts. The year before was even better, with a 3.05 ERA. But now the Cubs have to go ahead without him, too.

The  Cubs are having to rely on Colin Rea and Ben Brown to fill those roles. They recently added Drew Pomeranz, but that doesn’t solve the entire pitching issue. Thankfully, the offense is working its magic, and their 16-10 record is due to their run production. But come October, an explosive offense alone won’t be enough–they’ll need their pitching arms ready.

Do you think that the Cubs might be wishing they hadn’t passed up on Luzardo when they had their chance? Let us know your thoughts.