It’s time to officially be worried about Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jameson Taillon. The right-hander has not looked sharp on the mound this Spring and he took it to a whole new level of implosion in his latest start against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Not his best day at the office:

Taillon had maybe one of the worst starts of his career on Sunday, March 15th, 2026, Spring Training or not. The 34-year-old was chased by the Dodgers after just 3.1 innings in which he got lit up for 10 earned runs. Taillon wasn’t fooling anyone in this outing, as he allowed eight hits, two of which were home run balls. His command was also off as he surrendered four free passes to the Dodgers lineup with only two strikeouts. The Dodgers are, of course, World Champions, but this wasn’t even them at full strength. It was a split-squad game where Freddie Freeman and Kyle Tucker played in the Dodgers’ other game against the Texas Rangers, and Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith were off playing in the World Baseball Classic. The lone threat from the World Series team that faced Taillon was Mookie Betts, who, of course, took him deep in the top of the 3rd inning.

Serving up the long ball on a platter:

Giving up the home run ball has always seemed to bite Taillon, and that hasn’t been any different this Spring. In his four starts, the right-hander has given up a league-leading eight home runs throughout Spring Training. That has led him to an astronomical ERA of 22.18 and a WHIP of 3.00. Of the pitchers who have pitched five innings or more, Taillon’s ERA is far and above the highest of any qualifying pitcher. He’s only lasted a total of 9.1 innings in his four games started, and he’s allowed 21 hits and 7 walks while only striking out six batters. It may be time for manager Craig Counsell to hit the panic button.

Could Taillon lose his spot in the rotation?

If Taillon doesn’t show signs of improvement and continues to struggle, he could potentially find himself the odd man out in the Cubs’ starting rotation, or at the very least, a phantom trip to the IL. The Cubs’ starting rotation has a ton of depth, and they have a number of arms that would be able to step up. Javier Assad looks healthy again, and he made 29 starts for the Cubs back in 2024. He gave the Cubs 147 innings pitched to the tune of a 3.73 ERA while posting a 1.97 K/BB rate. Colin Rea did his best Assad impression last season. In his first season as a Cub, Rea started 27 games and pitched 159.1 innings, while posting a 3.95 ERA. A third option is Ben Brown, who has looked impressive over the course of Spring Training. The 26-year-old has started three games and pitched 10.2 innings so far. He has 15 strikeouts in comparison to just three walks to go with a 3.38 ERA.