Hooray for intentionally lame puns!
Last week, Tsuyoshi Wada was informed that his five-inning start against the Dodgers would be the last of his season. Apparently the Cubs told him to stay fresh, however, because, if there was a need in the rotation over the final week, he was going to be the guy (Cubs.com).
With Edwin Jackson getting the boot to the bullpen, there was a need, and Wada is the guy. He’ll start this weekend against the Brewers in the final series of the year.
I think it’s interesting that Wada gets the extra start over guys like Jacob Turner, Felix Doubront, and Dan Straily (assuming the rotational order could have been accommodated far enough in advance to make that happen – wouldn’t have been an issue), particularly in light of our recent conversation about that $5 million option the Cubs hold on Wada for 2015. Like I’ve said: the Cubs sure have given a great deal of prominent time to Wada, over other 2015 possibilities, if he has no chance of being a part of the team next year.
I remain of the mind that Wada has possible value to the Cubs as depth, or to the market in trade, at $5 million for 2015. Giving him yet another start, over other guys, could be a signal that the Cubs feel the same way (or hope to show the market that they feel that way, at least). That post-World Series option decision week sure will be an interesting one.
The other starters for that Brewers series are Kyle Hendricks, starting the finale as we heard previously, and Eric Joksich. The 25-year-old lefty is yet another back-end possibility for 2015, after a solid minor league season. It’ll be the first big league start of Jokisch’s career, which is a nice way for him to round out his year.