The Chicago Cubs were among the most active teams ahead of the 2026 MLB trade deadline.

Being aggressive helped the Cubs land two solid starting pitchers in Kevin Gausman from the Toronto Blue Jays and Clay Holmes from the New York Mets.

Chicago now has seven healthy starting pitchers ready and available. That number will likely need to be shortened, making for some tough roster decisions in the coming days.

Who is the odd man out? 

At full strength, the starting rotation will likely be Gausman, Holmes, Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga and David Peterson.

That leaves Colin Rea and Javier Assad on the outside looking into the rotation. There is likely a spot in the bullpen for one of those two, but not both. So, who is going to be the odd man out and be optioned to Triple-A?

History shows that it will be Assad who is likely optioned to Triple-A Iowa. Despite his career 3.46 ERA, he is often given the short end of the stick when it comes to roster crunching and transactions.

Should it actually be Javier Assad who is optioned?

Opting to continue through the season with Rea rather than Assad may be an organizational mistake. Rea has posted a 4.59 ERA this season, a full run higher than Assad's 3.58 season ERA.

Rea does have the experience advantage, but Assad has actually done more lengthy work out of the bullpen in the past. That gives him the advantage of being familiar with the role and the preparation for it.

The Cubs front office is certainly in a tough spot with what move to make, as they know whatever the decision is will be an uncomfortable situation and likely hurt feelings.