The Chicago Cubs have a new starter for Tuesday night’s matchup with the Toronto Blue Jays.

The team originally announced after Sunday’s game in St. Louis that Ben Brown would start in the series opener in Toronto, followed by Cade Horton for Wednesday and Matthew Boyd for Thursday.

Now, Javier Assad will slot into the rotation instead of Brown for his first start of the 2025 season.

“We felt like, as we’re undertaking this stretch, Javi’s ready to go,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters Tuesday. “We think we have length with Ben behind him, or using Ben today or tomorrow in that regard. So, looking forward to seeing (Assad) pitch and happy he’s back.”

The Cubs activated Assad and catcher Miguel Amaya off the 60-day IL Tuesday and, in corresponding moves, optioned reliever Nate Pearson to Triple-A Iowa and designated veteran utility player Jon Berti for assignment.

Berti, who came to Chicago as a free agent in the offseason, appeared in 51 games for the Cubs, hitting .210/.262/.230 (.492 OPS) with 11 stolen bases and 12 runs scored.

The 35-year-old veteran saw time at third base, second base, right field and DH, as well as pinch-hitting and pinch-running duties. However, he hadn’t started a game since July 12 and had just 15 plate appearances since the end of June.

The Cubs in turn will carry three catchers on their active roster: Amaya, Carson Kelly and Reese McGuire.

“Essentially, we are prioritizing catcher depth,” Counsell said of the decision to DFA Berti. “We wanted to keep Reese. There was another move that had to be made with Miguel being healthy and ready to go.”

Amaya, 26, hasn’t played in the majors since May 24. An oblique injury has cost him nearly three months, but the young catcher was off to a strong start to the year before then, with a .280/.313/.505 slash line (.819 OPS), four homers and 25 RBI in 27 games.

“It feels amazing to be back,” Amaya told reporters Tuesday. “It’s always fun catching Javi — he’s an amazing guy, and I’m always rooting for him,” he said of the duo’s rehab starts together in Iowa.

Tuesday will be the first MLB start of the year for Assad, a 28-year-old right-hander who has been a big part of the Cubs’ pitching staff over the last three seasons. He has been on the shelf the entire season with an oblique injury.

Assad was first hampered by the oblique issue in spring training, and he began the season on the IL. He experienced a setback during a rehab start in late April and ultimately missed three more months.

Assad has made three rehab starts over the last few weeks, sporting a 1.64 ERA in those 11 innings.

The Cubs need the rotation boost after Michael Soroka landed on the IL last week during his first start with the team. Soroka was the only starter the Cubs acquired before the July 31 MLB trade deadline, and the right-hander had to exit last Monday’s game after two innings with a shoulder strain.

Assad has experienced success as both a starter and a reliever for the Cubs in recent seasons. He made his MLB debut in 2022, and has appeared in 70 games (47 starts) since then, with a career 3.40 ERA.

The right-hander earned a spot in the Cubs’ Opening Day rotation last year and spent the entire season as a starter outside of a three-week stint on the IL for a forearm issue. He posted a 1.7 WAR in 29 starts while going 7-6 with a 3.73 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 124 strikeouts in 147 innings.

Veteran right-hander Jameson Taillon also is on his way back to the big-league rotation after missing the last month and a half with a calf strain. Taillon built up to 78 pitches in his last rehab outing with Triple-A Iowa, striking out six batters and allowing only one run in 4.2 innings.