Joe Maddon Sets Early Schedule for Starting Rotation

Speaking with the media Saturday, Joe Maddon laid out a tentative schedule for the main members of the Cubs rotation after Jen-Ho Tseng and Tyler Chatwood kick off Cactus League play this weekend.

Full rotation over next week: Lester on Monday, Darvish on Tuesday, Hamels on Wednesday, Hendricks on Thursday, Quintana on Friday.

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) February 23, 2019

Should you be reading into that order as an indication of the regular season? Probably not, but I’m certainly not going to stop you from speculating that this means Jon Lester will get the ball on Opening Day. I would imagine many of you have Tuesday circled on your calendars, as that’s when Yu Darvish makes his 2019 debut. Supporters and critics alike will be watching to see whether Darvish looks ready to bounce back from an injury-plagued 2018.

As these are only exhibition games, the key for all of these guys is health. Regardless of the order in which they pitch, it will be exciting to see the rotation in action this coming week and hopefully everyone is on track to be ready once the regular season begins in late March.