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Let’s get right into it.
Left-hander Mike Montgomery had a slight delay in his rehab, but it was for a good reason as he celebrated the birth of his first child. Right after becoming a father, Montgomery pitched two innings in South Bend and looked pretty good, throwing 19 strikes out of 27 pitches, allowing only one base runner via a hit and striking out four.
Montgomery was placed on the injured list with a lat issue after the first week of the season. He really struggled out of the gate, giving up five earned runs on two dingers, a walk and eight hits in just four relief appearances before he was placed on the IL.
The Cubs currently have three lefties in the bullpen, with Kyle Ryan, Randy Rosario and Tim Collins. Montgomery might get one more outing in the minors before the Cubs bring him back to the bullpen.
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Jon Lester is eligible to come off the 10-day injured list Friday, but the Cubs are definitely being cautious as the veteran comes back from his hamstring strain.
Cubs GM Jed Hoyer also said the team will know more on Lester’s timetable after meeting with the medical staff on Friday.
The Cubs already skipped Lester’s spot in the rotation this past Sunday, when their game against the Angels was postponed. With a few more days off they can keep going with a four-man rotation for the next 10 days.
So far the entire pitching staff has picked up the slack with Lester trying to work himself back.
Carl Edwards Jr. was placed on the seven-day injured list with the Iowa Cubs after falling and scraping his pitching hand. It’s not major and it only slightly affects his return. The Cubs want Edwards to improve his command down at Triple-A and show some consistency after struggling at the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019.
Meanwhile the Cubs seem to be taking the extremely cautious route with Brandon Morrow. He had surgery on his right elbow back in November and we’ve known since the offseason that he wouldn’t be ready for Opening Day.
So far Morrow has been passing each hurdle as he makes his return and last week Jordan Bastian reported the right-hander was close to facing live batters.
Since then there haven’t been any further updates other than Hoyer saying Morrow is still just throwing down in Arizona.
“Given his injury history in the past, we’ve tried to take it really slow with him,” Hoyer said. “If we can get him back and healthy and throwing the way he can; we don’t have that kind of electric stuff in the back of the bullpen, and we can slot everybody else in a little bit better of a place if he’s back. We obviously want him back, but we’re not going to rush him given his past.”
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For reference, Yu Darvish also had surgery to clean up his elbow in September and was throwing to hitters by February. Morrow had his surgery in early November.
Tony Barnette is coming back from a shoulder issue and is pitching in extended spring training down in Arizona.
Lastly, left-hander Xavier Cedeño is scheduled to pitch Thursday night at Double-A. He’s returning from a wrist injury and gives the Cubs another solid left-handed reliever when he’s back to full health.
