Smyly named No. 4 starter in Cubs rotation
The Cubs are scheduled to open the regular season Thursday with four straight games against the Brewers at Wrigley Field.
The weather forecast is not great for Thursday and Friday, but if the NL Central rivals manage to get on the field, Kyle Hendricks and Justin Steele are the first two starting pitchers for the Cubs.
That puts Marcus Stroman in the No. 3 slot Saturday, and Drew Smyly is the fourth starter on Sunday.
Manager David Ross announced the Smyly decision on Tuesday, the final day of spring training for the Cubs.
Smyly started against the White Sox in Monday's Cactus League game and allowed 4 runs on 7 hits and 1 walk over 2⅔ innings. In 3 spring outings, he was 1-0 with a 6.14 ERA along with 2 walks and 8 strikeouts in 7⅓ innings.
While he is a newcomer after signing a one-year, $5.25 million contract on March 19, Smyly was with the Cubs on a two-year, $10 million deal in 2018.
He didn't pitch during the first year of the contract while recovering from Tommy John surgery and was traded to the Rangers after the season.
"I was a little sad I got traded because I was so looking forward to pitching here in 2019," Smyly said earlier in training camp. "So having the opportunity now, I'm very excited for it."
Smyly, a 32-year-old lefty, was 11-4 with a 4.48 ERA for the World Series champion Braves last season.
He was 9-4 with a 4.75 ERA in 23 starts for Atlanta and 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA in 6 relief appearances.