The Chicago Cubs aren’t taking any chances with their $155 million man.
Jon Lester has been scratched from Saturday’s start against the Seattle Mariners as a precaution. The left-hander’s status for Opening Day is not in jeopardy, according to Cubs manager Joe Maddon.
“He’s going through a little bit of a dead arm period,” Maddon told reporters Friday in Glendale, Ariz. “He more than likely will not miss the start after that, but we wanted to be very cautious with it right now, and at this point, it does not impact Opening Day.”
It’s common for pitchers to go through a “dead arm period” during spring training. It essentially means the pitcher’s arm isn’t 100 percent but that there isn’t a clear injury. Typically, it’s not a big deal, which would explain Maddon’s optimism regarding Lester’s Opening Day status.
It’s unsurprising, however, the Cubs aren’t messing around in this instance. They just signed Lester to a six-year contract over the offseason, so they obviously don’t want to take any unnecessary risks with the hurler in Cactus League action.
“A lot of times, when you talk to a pitcher and you ask how they’re feeling, when a guy smiles easily and talks easily and is upbeat about it, it’s a pretty good indication (everything’s OK), and he was all of that,” Maddon told reporters. “I really feel well or strongly that he’s going to be OK.”
Lester, who spent his first eight-plus seasons with the Boston Red Sox before being traded to the Oakland Athletics at last year’s Major League Baseball non-waiver trade deadline, is scheduled to start the Cubs’ April 5 season opener against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Thumbnail photo via Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports Images
