Not a half-hour after the Cubs pitching coach, Jim Hickey, gave us a cryptic, but optimistic message on Yu Darvish’s plan going forward, did the big, good news drop:
MRI on #Cubs Darvish reveals no structural damage. He has right triceps inflammation and will hopefully begin throwing program late this weekend or early next week
— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) May 30, 2018
No structural damage on Yu Darvish's arm, per MRI.
Darvish has inflammation in right triceps and will begin a throwing program either this weekend or early next week.
So looks like Montgomery is gonna get another start Saturday.
— Tony Andracki (@TonyAndracki23) May 30, 2018
HOORAY!
Earlier today, the Cubs announced that the MRI on Yu Darvish arm revealed no structural damage! Instead there is just some inflammation, which is miles better than the alternative and requires only rest/basic treatment.
Now, as Hickey hinted earlier, the Cubs can just allow Darvish to rest up for a few more days (he was already at roughly 70% or 80% before his last start) and activate him as soon as or just after he’s eligible to come off the disabled list (June 2, I believe).
He’ll still likely miss another start (or possibly two or more, depending on what they exactly mean by “throwing program”), but you can expect Mike Montgomery will be more than happy to cover for him in the meantime – and given how well his first start went, that’s no biggie.
(Not Actually) Important Update:
https://twitter.com/Michael_Cerami/status/1001863383333863425