Reports: Lackey, Rondon to be Placed on DL by Cubs

The Chicago Cubs have largely avoided health issues with their starting rotation this season, but their luck ran out on Friday as John Lackey will reportedly be placed on the 15-day disabled list.

The Cubs will also reportedly place reliever Hector Rondon on the disabled list, according to Cubs.com’s Carrie Muskat and ESPN Chicago's Jesse Rogers.

Lackey, who has a 9-7 record with a 3.41 ERA for the Cubs this season, was forced to leave his last start with stiffness in his shoulder. The injury forced Joe Maddon to reshuffle his pitching rotation to have Mike Montgomery start a game in Denver this weekend, but with a sizable division lead and some flexibility available thanks to Montgomery and Trevor Cahill, the Cubs have instead opted to take a cautious approach with the starter.

As for Rondon, the reliever had been dealing with a triceps issue that kept him out of action for nearly two weeks, but he came back in recent days for several appearances. According to Muskat, the reliever did not suffer any type of setback, but the Cubs are going to opt for a cautious approach anyway.

With Lackey and Rondon both heading to the disabled list, the Cubs are making two call-ups. According to reports, Rob Zastryzny will be one of the pitchers called up, and he could conceivably find his way into the Cubs’ rotation, but will likely come out of the bullpen when he’s officially called up. In Triple-A Iowa, Zastryzny has a 7-3 record with a 4.33 ERA in 15 starts, with a 1.21 WHIP for the team.

The other pitcher coming up is Felix Pena, a reliever that has struck out 81 batters in 63 1/3 innings of work thus far this season. He has a 3.41 ERA for Iowa in 36 relief appearances.

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