Darvish Feels Triceps Pain During Bullpen, Next Steps Uncertain

Everything had been going according to plan for Yu Darvish as he worked his way back from right triceps inflammation. His bullpen sessions went well and he looked good during his five-inning rehab start in South Bend earlier in the week. He even flew out to rejoin the Cubs in LA with a possibility of being activated this weekend.

But that all went out the window in the wake of his Thursday bullpen session. Darvish said after his rehab start that he felt some form of discomfort in the arm but that it was no different from anyone getting back into action following a DL stint. This time, however, the balky triceps did not cooperate.

“It didn’t go that well and he was not able to cut it loose,” Joe Maddon told the media prior to Thursday’s finale against the Dodgers. “We’ll re-evaluate once we go back to Chicago and let you know the next step. For right now, he’s not going to be able to pitch on Saturday.”

There are lots of ways to describe an athlete not feeling so great, but Maddon didn’t mince words when delivering the news about Darvish.

“He said there was more pain today,” the manager admitted.

There’s no timeline at this point and you have to figure this sets Darvish back almost to square one in the rehab process. At best, he’s taken a couple steps back and will need to work through more side sessions and another minor-league start before being activated. Barring some very positive developments over the next few days, a return before the break is out of the question.

Ugh.