On top of having a poor beginning to his first spring training with the Chicago Cubs, Jon Lester missed his most recent start because of fatigue in his throwing arm, which is referred to as "dead arm." This now may affect his workload heading into the regular season.
Lester signed a six-year, $155 million deal with the Cubs this offseason and is just 0-1 with a 6.48 ERA and 1.44 WHIP in three starts this spring. The left-hander told manager Jon Maddon he has experienced "dead arm" before, but the news isn't particularly promising since it's now an issue so close to Opening Night.
"He might somewhat be restricted regarding length in that first game," Maddon told Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com. "I'm not concerned who he pitches against. He just needs somebody standing up there so he gets the requisite number of pitches thrown. If he says he feels good, then I feel good."
Lester is expected to make his next start on Thursday and will be limited to 60 pitches. He also won't throw more than 80 in his final outing next week and Rogers says this is an indication that the left-hander will not reach 100 pitches on Opening Night against the St. Louis Cardinals. His final two spring starts will be in minor league games because teams can end an inning whenever they want, and the Cubs see that as an advantage to more easily control Lester's pitch count.
The question is whether or not this will significantly affect the beginning of the regular season for both Lester and the Cubs. If the team's ace is limited on a regular basis, it will undoubtedly affect Chicago's performance and put them at a disadvantage in the competitive NL Central, especially considering who follows him in the starting rotation (Jake Arrieta, Jason Hammel, Kyle Kendricks and Travis Wood).
The problem with "dead arm" is that there is no discernible injury and it's a result of an overall feeling of general, non-specific fatigue. The ailment eventually goes away, but it varies for different pitchers. Lester and Maddon said they weren't concerned about it, but if it happens to linger, they should be worried because it can become an issue during a time when winning games matters.
However, Red Sox manager John Farrell, a former pitcher and pitching coach, says this is almost customary and downplays the hoopla surrounding it.
"There's a point in spring training with a starting pitcher, typically after his third start - you can almost mark it on the calender when it's going to come," he told Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe. "You work all winter to build up your base, and throwing takes place, and you get to a point where the body is not recovering as quick and you go to a little bit of a downturn. You go to step on it with your velocity and there's nothing there.''
We'll just have to wait and see how long it affects Lester.
