NEWSLETTER
After watching the slow-moving disaster that was the all-bullpen experiment last night, I’m guessing you’re itching to hear some good news about pitchers Randy Wells and Andrew Cashner. Well, I don’t have good news. God is wrathful, after all.
But I do have news.
In his weekly chat, Bruce Levine casually dropped the first estimates (that I’ve heard) about the returns of Wells and Cashner. The fact that it was casually dropped in a chat and not made the subject of an entire article tells me that either Levine’s source for the information isn’t solid or he’s just out-and-out guessing. Whatever the case, it’s the first estimate, so it’s worth passing on.
Levine says Wells is expected to be out three and a half to four weeks, and Cashner is expected to be out six weeks. Obviously things can change when they start throwing again (hopefully next week), but that would Wells on schedule to return in about two and a half weeks, and Cashner in a little over a month.
Like I said, not good news. But news.
It means the Cubs are going to have to figure out a fifth starter for at least another three starts, and you’re going to be seeing a lot more of Casey Coleman.
Doug Davis is not expected to be ready to join a rotation for more than a month, so he’s not really the answer here – he’s simply depth in case Wells/Cashner’s recovery takes longer than expected, or if (Lord, no) there’s another injury in the rotation.
