Chicago Cubs pitcher Yu Darvish is still a ways away from returning from the DL. But on Tuesday, he’ll knock out a major step with a scheduled bullpen session.
Carrie Muskrat of MLB.com reported that Darvish played catch on Monday and will throw in the bullpen on Tuesday.
https://twitter.com/CarrieMuskat/status/1006305721821130752
That’s certainly a good sign.
Darvish has struggled in his first year with the Cubs. In eight outings, he did strike out an impressive 11 hitters per nine innings. Unfortunately, he also posted a 4.95 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, and a BB/9 rate of 4.7. It’s unclear, of course, how much of an impact the injury to his right arm had on his control.
Matthew Martell of MLB.com has recently reported that Darvish may not return before the All-Star break. It’s unclear how much the bullpen session will change that, but it’s obviously not bad news.