(Photo credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images)

The Chicago Cubs are dealing with pitching injuries they've been handed this week, losing starters Matthew Boyd and Cade Horton.

Boyd is dealing with a left biceps strain that led to the team placing him on the 15-day injured list on Monday. Cubs manager Craig Counsell said he expects the left-hander, an All-Star last season, will return later in April after a 'minimum stint' on the IL. Right-hander Javier Assad will replace him in the meantime.

Horton's status is a more of a long-term concern. The runner-up in last year's National League Rookie of the Year voting will miss the remainder of the 2026 season, as the right-hander has been slated for elbow surgery.

It's a disappointing blow at the top of the Cubs' rotation, but Assad's first outing was a good omen for the team's chances to weather the storm, as he recorded 5 2/3 shutout innings in Chicago's 9-2 win over the host Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday. As a result, the Cubs are in a position take the three-game series in Wednesday's decider. For that hope, they will turn to right-hander Colin Rea as he occupies Horton's spot in the rotation for the first time.

Rea is no stranger to this role, having made 27 starts for Chicago last season. He's 0-0 with a 4.26 ERA in 6 1/3 innings in 2026. A former Padre, Marlin and Brewer, Rea is 1-0 with a 2.38 ERA in 11 1/3 innings over two starts vs. Tampa Bay in his career.

Injuries are a fact of life for every MLB team, and the Cubs are turning to Rea as part of a next-man-up mentality to get through the season.

'That's how this works, is that someone's going to get an opportunity,' Counsell said. 'Colin's going to be asked to pitch more innings than out of the bullpen, and someone's going to take Colin's bullpen innings.

'We've got opportunity ahead of us,' Counsell continued. 'That's how you look at it.'

On the other side of the pitching matchup, Joe Boyle (0-0, 3.18 ERA) will go for the Rays on Wednesday.

Boyle has never faced the Cubs in his brief MLB career. The right-hander has made 24 career starts in 31 games, debuting for the Athletics in 2023 before coming to Tampa Bay via a trade in December 2024.

The Rays have a fun young player to track -- and a possible early contender for American League batting champion -- in outfielder Chandler Simpson.

The 25-year-old, who stole 44 bases in his rookie season last year, is off to a hot start in 2026. Simpson has had seven multi-hit games through 11 outings, leading the league with a .405 batting average after two more hits in a losing effort on Tuesday night.

He also has flashed the glove on occasion, making a leaping grab at the wall in left field to rob Ian Happ of extra bases in the third inning of Tampa Bay's 6-4 win over the Cubs in the series opener on Monday.

Simpson credits his mindset heading into this season for his all-round success.

'It's really just caring, honestly, not really just thinking of myself as someone that just hits, gets on base, steals bags, but somebody that can impact the game on defense as well,' Simpson said before Tuesday's game.

--Field Level Media