This is the news many of us were expecting, reported by Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic:
Chicago Cubs pitcher Ben Brown underwent successful cervical spine surgery Monday, according to a source familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly. Brown is expected to start a throwing progression in the new year, and the hope is he will be ready for game action during the first half of the 2027 season.
So, this can probably be viewed
as good news. Brown had a neck issue in 2024 that apparently was mis-diagnosed, and it recurred last summer and finally the team got a proper diagnosis:
When the issue recurred in 2026, the original diagnosis of a stress reaction in his neck was confirmed. The surgery was a proactive procedure involving Brown’s C5 vertebra, done with the belief that it would speed up healing in the area.
Brown was having a breakout season as a starter when this issue ended his season in June. After a rough outing in relief on Opening Day against the Nationals, when Jacob Young hit the very first 2026 pitch thrown by Brown for a home run, Brown posted a 1.67 ERA and 0.928 WHIP and allowed just one more home run among 252 batters faced, and struck out 62. He was beginning to anchor the rotation at the time of the injury.
Based on this report, Brown could be back early in 2027, and who knows? If the upcoming lockout does cancel games, maybe he won’t miss any games at all. As always, we await developments.
