From ominous news on the Kris Bryant front (shoulder soreness, no other details, hopefully not serious) to good news on the Yu Darvish front.
Darvish’s side session must have gone well after his simulated game last week (triceps inflammation), because he is headed out for a rehab start tomorrow:
Darvish will head out today for South Bend for rehab start Monday.
— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubCub) June 24, 2018
Yu Darvish (triceps) is headed out from Cincinnati to make a rehab start with South Bend (Class A) on Monday. https://t.co/gKkmXOmbF1
— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) June 24, 2018
You can expect that Darvish will probably throw something like 60 to 70 pitches in that one, especially if he’s hoping to return as soon as his next available start, which would be next weekend against the Twins.
No one has confirmed that Darvish will make only one rehab start, though, so let’s just take it day-by-day for now. Hopefully he’s comfortable tomorrow for South Bend, and then the Cubs can start laying plans for how best to incorporate him back into the rotation. Given that there are no off-days for a while, and given that Tyler Chatwood missed today’s start on paternity leave, I’m sure everyone would be happy if Darvish were able to slot in this next time through and give everyone a one-day blow, if nothing else.