As the playoffs draw closer, the Chicago Cubs are beginning to set things up for the postseason, and one intriguing development has taken place in terms of their pitching rotation.

On Wednesday, it was announced that Kyle Hendricks will be bumped back by two days in the rotation, moving his turn to Monday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jason Hammel will get the start on Saturday instead, and Jon Lester will move up a day in the rotation to start on Sunday in the team’s series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals.

So what does all of that rotation shuffling mean? It means that the Cubs are setting their rotation with Jake Arrieta as the fourth starter, and that move could mean that he wouldn’t start in the team’s first round playoff series until Game 4 at the earliest.

If the current rotation holds, Lester would be the Game 1 starter for the Cubs when their postseason begins on Oct. 7 at Wrigley Field. Hendricks would be in line to be the Game 2 starter, and as of right now, it would appear that Lackey, not Arrieta, will be taking the hill in Game 3 when the series shifts to the road park.

There is still time to change, but it would appear that as of right now, that strategy is the one that the Cubs are employing. The team has begun holding meetings to determine their playoff roster and rotation, and this move coming at this point of the season seems to be an indicator that Arrieta has been bumped down to the fourth starter’s spot in the rotation.

Due to recent command issues, Arrieta’s status as a top-of-the-rotation pitcher for the Cubs has been put into question. His ERA has ballooned up to 2.96 on the season, and although he has 17 wins, his lack of fastball command and a bit of a dip in velocity could be concerning signs for a pitcher that was the team’s unquestioned ace during the 2015 pennant chase.