Gausman Delivers, Holmes Shows Why Cubs Wanted Him
The MLB trade deadline has passed, and the Cubs took full advantage. It was clear what they needed, and they got it.
The Cubs got all sorts of pitching, both starters and relievers, to solidify their roster heading into the last portion of the regular season.
The most notable acquisitions by the Cubs front office were pitchers Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes. Both Gausman and Holmes have been selected to two All-Star Games in their careers and are established pitchers in the majors.
So much so that if the Cubs were playing in the playoffs tomorrow, these two might be starting games one and two.
With the high expectations around these two players, many Cubs fans had their eyes set on their debuts as part of the 2026 Chicago Cubs.
Kevin Gausman
Gausman’s debut came in game one of the Cubs series in Kansas City. Although he allowed one run in the first inning, he settled in after that. When it was all said and done, Gausman exited the game pitching seven innings, only allowing two runs. The other run Gausman allowed was a home run in the fifth inning, but he was really sharp outside of that. His splitter, the pitch he is most known for, was on point. Gausman recorded twenty-one outs in his debut, and thirteen of them were from his splitter.
On top of that, he recorded four strikeouts in this game. Those strikeouts came from one pitch, you guessed it, his splitter. Gausman’s debut went as expected; he allowed just four hits and controlled the game, which resulted in the Cubs’ fifth win in a row.
Clay Holmes
Clay Holmes made his debut the next day, and while it didn’t go quite as expected, he showed why the Cubs made the move to get him. This move holds a little more significance than the Gausman trade because of what it cost the Cubs. In getting Clay Holmes, the Cubs gave up one of their top prospects, Jefferson Rojas. This was an indication that the Cubs front office believes in this current major league roster and wants to give this team a real chance to win it all this season.
When Holmes made his debut in game two of the Cubs series with the Kansas City Royals, it was his first outing in the big leagues since the month of May. Before yesterday’s outing, Holmes had a 2.39 ERA through 52.2 innings in what had been a successful season for him outside of the injury that sidelined him for multiple months. When he took the mound yesterday, the trouble he ran into may have been caused by the amount of time since last pitching in the big leagues. He gave up four runs in four innings of action, which wasn’t the quality of pitching that Holmes typically performs at. The positive in Holmes’ performance yesterday was the rate at which he produced ground balls.
Since 2021, Holmes has been in the 94th percentile or higher in ground ball percentage. Yesterday, every out that Holmes got was from the ground ball except for one strikeout in the fourth inning. This is why the Cubs went out to get a pitcher like Holmes because of how elite their defense is. Once Holmes gets re-acclimated to consistently pitching in the big leagues, he will be a force to be reckoned with.
Another great aspect of the addition of these two pitchers is what the Cubs pitching group will look like once injured players return from injury.
What once was a weakness for Chicago will turn into a strength with how much depth they will have when healthy.
The Cubs have won fourteen of the twenty-two games they’ve played in the second half thus far; hopefully a series win against the Royals today makes it fifteen wins!
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Categorized:Cubs