Darvish Throws 31-Pitch Sim Game in KC, Trainers Required…for La Stella

Photo of Evan Altman Evan AltmanAugust 8, 2018

Yu Darvish took the next in his rehab odyssey Wednesday, throwing 31 pitches to live hitters in a two-inning sim game at Kauffman Stadium. The pitch count was unofficial, but the righty reportedly threw 15 pitches in the first fake frame, followed by 16 in the second.

The training staff had to get involved at some point the outing, but it had nothing to do with Darvish himself. While serving as one of the batters in the sim game, Tommy La Stella fouled a ball off his leg and got help from Kyle Schwarber to exit the batting cage.

After being attended to by trainers, La Stella walked off under his own power and is expected to remain in the starting lineup as DH.

More updates as they are available, but all indications are that this was a positive session for Darvish. Based on what the Cubs said last week, he could begin a rehab assignment immediately, though it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get in one more sim game.

If you figure two minor-league starts after that, Darvish would easily be on track to rejoin the Cubs near the end of August. It would probably make more sense at that point to hold him back until rosters expand in September, but that’ll also depend on what’s going on with the rotation and other potential injury or usage issues at the time.

Photo of Evan Altman Evan AltmanAugust 8, 2018
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