Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jon Lester walks to the dug out when he comes out of the game the 7th inning in game one of the NLCS against the New York Mets at Citi Field in New York City on October 17, 2015. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI |
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Chicago Cubs left-hander Jon Lester has been pitching with a floating bone chip in his throwing elbow for years, according to reports Sunday.
The Chicago Cubs knew about the bone chip when they signed Lester to a six-year, $155 million contract after the 2014 season, Yahoo Sports reported. The bone chip was discovered during a 2014 MRI exam before Lester signed his deal with the Cubs. Yahoo Sports is including the information in an upcoming book.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Lester calls the chip a "nonissue."
Lester, 32, pitched 205 innings in the regular season last year, plus another 14 innings in the postseason. He posted an 11-12 regular-season record with a 3.34 ERA in 32 starts in 2015. He made two starts in the postseason, losing both games.
"It's just a matter of hopefully it stays put, and we don't have any worry about it," Lester told the Sun-Times. "And then if it does become a concern, if I start having inflammation or missing starts because of it, then that's when we'll probably sit down and talk to somebody about getting it removed. As of now, knock on wood, I haven't had any concern with it.
"It's kind of one of those deals if it's not bothering you, don't mess with it. You start getting cut on and doing rehab, and that's when maybe they're in there, taking that bone chip out, and it puts more stress on something else. You don't know. 'If it ain't broke don't fix it' type thing."
Cubs team president Theo Epstein said Friday that the chip did not discourage him from signing Lester.
"We did a very thorough exam including imaging of the shoulder and elbow," Epstein said. "We were really quite pleased with the results, as Jon compared very favorably with most of the free agent pitchers we have examined and MRI'd over many years.
"Virtually all pitchers have some wear and tear on their shoulders and elbows, and Jon's imperfections were very manageable. He remains very consistent, as we hoped, throwing 200-plus quality innings yet again last season."