By Jordan Long
The Chicago Cubs are well into Spring Training. They hope to improve on their 95-68 record and this time win the National League Central. They fell short last year of winning the division for the 3rd season in a row after playing the tiebreaker game, losing to the Milwaukee Brewers. This year they hope pitcher Yu Darvish will be healthy to help the pitching rotation.
Darvish signed a 6-year, $126 million deal on February 10th, 2018. He was a top name left in free agency and the Cubs knew that a healthy Darvish would be the answer to helping them make a deep run in the playoffs. Unfortunately that didn’t happen for Darvish. He started 8 games with a record of 1-3 with an ERA of 4.95.
Darvish was not the same pitcher he was with the Dodgers when he helped them go all the way to the World Series in 2017. He was leaving the ball up in the zone for hitters to smack base hits or home runs. Darvish gave up 7 home runs. He wasn’t commanding the zone and walked 21 batters, far too many.
Darvish dealt with injuries last season. He was placed on the disabled list on May 27th, 2018 because of right triceps tendinitis. Darvish tried to come back, but the Cubs shut him down for the season on August 21st, 2018. An MRI showed he had a stress reaction in his right elbow and triceps strain.
This year Darvish is hoping to be 100% healthy. He played in his first Cactus League game on Tuesday, pitching 1.1 innings. Darvish didn’t command the zone with 4 walks, but it is a step in the right direction because he was able to pitch pain free.
Chicago knows there are more Spring Training games ahead for Darvish. They are confident his pitching will improve. They just need him to be healthy in the regular season. Darvish is slated to be the Cubs 3rd pitcher in the rotation. If Darvish has another injury plagued season, it will be a long year for him and the Cubs.
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