Brown (neck) is slated to throw against live hitters Friday at the Cubs' facility in Arizona, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.
Facing hitters will represent the final box for Brown to check in his recovery from a stress reaction in his neck before heading out on a rehab assignment. Prior to landing on the injured list June 24, Brown had excelled after transitioning from the bullpen to a starting role in early May, but it's unclear if the Cubs will have room for him in the rotation once he's ready to return from the shelf. Though Edward Cabrera (finger) landed back on the IL on Monday and is slated to serve as a reliever when he eventually returns, the Cubs still have Javier Assad, Colin Rea and David Peterson on hand as viable options to fill the vacancy in the rotation.