Cubs Reorder Rotation Again, Hendricks to Follow Lester

It was announced after Sunday’s trouncing of the Brewers that Jon Lester would go Tuesday on regular rest, while Kyle Hendricks would follow him Wednesday on six days’ rest. No definitive word yet on Eddie Butler, though the assumption is that he’ll be pitching Thursday so Jake Arrieta can follow with the normal four days between starts.

Lester will go on regular rest Tuesday. Hendricks pushed back to Wed

Also makes Lester available to face Dodgers after Giants series.

— Tony Andracki (@TonyAndracki23) May 21, 2017

Had Joe Maddon left the rotation as is, it would mean Lester pitching Wednesday and then missing the Dodgers series. That’s suboptimal since he’s the only southpaw in the rotation and LA fares poorly against lefties. Pretty standard stuff, really, and made possible by Saturday’s rainout.

And for those of you who worry about such things, this also means that Hendricks is technically the Cubs No. 2 starter. Remember when everyone got all up in arms about last year’s ERA leader being fifth in the rotation? That was fun.