John Lackey Agrees to Two-Year Contract with Chicago Cubs
According to Ken Rosenthal, P John Lackey has signed a two-year deal, $32 million-dollar deal with the Chicago Cubs. The 37-year-old Lackey was 13-10 with 2.77 ERA for the Cardinals in 2015.
Lackey’s departure could prove a big blow to the Cardinals’ staff. Lackey is the second starting pitcher to be stripped from the 2015 rotation this offseason, after Lance Lynn underwent Tommy John surgery last month. After losing out on David Price, the Cardinals may have to look for not one, but two starting pitchers through either free agency or trades, as they’ll want insurance for a staff that features Adam Wainwright and Carlos Martinez coming off significant injuries, with Michael Wacha and Jaime Garcia risky propositions due to chronic shoulder issues.
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Lackey was a workhorse for the St. Louis staff, starting 33 games and pitching 218 innings over the course of the 2015 season. That was by far the highest number of innings pitched on the staff; the next closest pitcher, Michael Wacha, “only” clocked in 181.1 innings of work. His 218 innings would’ve been good for second on the Cubs staff, behind emergent ace and Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta. Lackey also struck out 175 batters in 2015, the second-most on the team, behind only Carlos Martinez.
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The Cubs gain a solid number three in Lackey their rotation quite a bit scarier. An rotation featuring Arrieta, Lackey, Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, and Jason Hammel is undoubtedly one of the best in baseball. It makes the Cubs a threat deep into the playoffs, and increases the chances that the Cubs win the NL Central in 2016.