Chicago Cubs left-hander Jon Lester has been scratched from Saturday’s start against the Mariners with a dead arm.
Cubs left-hander Jon Lester is preparing to start the first of a six-year deal worth $155 million, but he has been scratched from Saturday’s start with a dead arm, according to a story by HardBall Talk.
Right now the team is not calling it serious and manager Joe Maddon says he’s confident that Lester will be available to pitch on opening day. He also thinks that Lester will be fine for his next turn in the rotation.
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Dead arm is used to describe a feeling of malaise in the arm when no other injury can be found. As long as no other serious injury is found, dead arm is treated as being a minor setback.
“(It’s) not pain,” Maddon said Friday. “A lot of guys go through that moment where the arm just doesn’t feel right. He came out of the chute really strong and probably went after it too hard, too early. Possibly trying to impress everybody, just being Jon Lester.” (via ESPN)
The good thing is that Lester has been pretty injury free most of his career. He’s started 31 or more games every season since 2008, and he pitched 220 innings just last year with the Red Sox. Maddon said that Lester was upbeat after the setback and that helped Maddon have confidence that the left-hander would soon be fine.
Looking at Lester’s last start against the Padres, he gave up seven runs and it’s possible that his arm was bothering him then. Previously, he’d breezed through his first two spring starts, throwing five scoreless innings. He’s expected to continue throwing like normal in preparation for his next turn in the rotation, which would be next Thursday. Maddon said Lester seems to be feeling good otherwise and they just wanted to back off a little.
Lester signed a big deal with Cubs in the MLB offseason, $155 million for six years, which immediately made him the face of the team’s rotation.
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