MLB Rumors 2016: Jake Arrieta Reportedly Cleared for Opening Day
The Chicago Cubs got a huge scare on Thursday in their game against the San Francisco Giants when pitcher Jake Arrieta saw himself getting hit hard while on the field. He was apparently pulled out of the game and was determined to have blisters right after the game. The good news is that the NL Cy Young awardee has been cleared for Opening Day by Monday against the Los Angeles Angels.
The blister was on his pitching thumb but the news of him ready to start is an indication that he's in no way threatened or at least bothered by it. As a matter of fact, he was seen throwing 46 pitches in a bullpen session over the weekend, per report from ESPN.
The Cubs manager Joe Maddon couldn't be more relieved to see his starter recover from the seemingly frightening trouble in his thumb, though it was actually nothing more than a blister. "He was fine, no restriction whatsoever," Maddon said. He went on to say that they aren't really expecting to see a more serious issue out of it.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The 30-year old right-hander is scheduled to make the final start of spring training today, but his number of pitches is expected to be increased. In the regular season, Arrieta will be backed up by left-handed pitcher John Lester, followed by John Lackey, Jason Hammel, and Kyle Hendricks.
It should be pretty interesting to see how many pitches Arrieta will throw in his last spring start considering that the team will be taking a cautious approach with him having the blister in his thumb. The most he has thrown in the offseason is 60, during which he pitched in a March 19 minor league game. However, he hasn't reached that many in spring training thus far. In the event that he suffers an injury, the team is expected to put in Trevor Cahill as emergency starter.
