NEWSLETTER
Oof. Well, maybe oof. Maybe not. Still, it’s striking to see:
Looks like Lackey and Rondon headed to DL. Zastryzny and Pena to be called up. #Cubs
— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) August 19, 2016
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We discussed the call-ups earlier today, if you missed it. One thing I haven’t mentioned yet is the corresponding 40-man roster move(s), but that’s because it should be a non-issue – the 40-man stands at 39, and has several players on it who can be put on the 60-day DL (and thus removed from the 40-man roster) with no trouble, and, frankly, there are also several who could safely be DFA’d.
John Lackey going to the disabled list after his shoulder stiffness issue was always a possibility, but it had seemed like Hector Rondon was over his sore triceps. Hopefully this indicates nothing more than a minor flareup of the same, and the Cubs now exercising extreme caution with a big divisional lead and six weeks to get healthy before the playoffs. If it is the same injury, there will definitely be some second-guessing about why the Cubs had him pitch at all this past week after sitting him for nearly two weeks with the injury in the first place.
It’s a touch concerning that, in the case of both pitchers, there was initially not an indication that a disabled list stint would be necessary, and now both are headed to the DL. Still, with a long way to go before the end of the season, you’d rather see the Cubs cautious than not. We’ll see, in each case, if that’s all this is.
In the meantime, you can figure that Rob Zastryzny might slot into Lackey’s turn in the rotation – maybe as soon as this weekend, if the whole rotation is shuffled – unless the Cubs want to commit to giving starts to Mike Montgomery and/or Trevor Cahill.[adinserter block=”2″]
Pena, for his part, slides into a bullpen that is suddenly without both of its setup men in Rondon and Pedro Strop. The opportunities for guys like Carl Edwards Jr. and Justin Grimm to lock down some high-leverage spots will greatly expand.
UPDATE: OK, this makes me feel better in advance of comments from the Cubs:
The moves re Rondon and Lackey are precautionary more than anything. #Cubs
— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) August 19, 2016
Neither Rondon or Lackey had setback. #Cubs
— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) August 19, 2016
