Chicago Cubs News: Kyle Hendricks update, Carlos Correa, and more

Not much has been made provided by the Chicago Cubs regarding the health of starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks' throwing shoulder after he was shut down during the 2022 Major League Baseball regular season but Cubs' pitching coach Tommy Hottovy spoke with the Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times and mentioned that the best case scenario for Hendricks remains him being ready by Opening Day.

"‘‘I’m so overly focused on getting Kyle back to being the best version of himself and not rushing it, not pushing it,’’ Hottovy said in a phone interview. ‘‘Because we all know what Kyle can do when he feels great, when he’s healthy, when he’s locked in.’’ In a ‘‘best-case scenario,’’ Hottovy said, Hendricks will feel great in spring training and be ready to be in the Opening Day rotation. But the Cubs aren’t going to speed up that process for the sake of starting the season with him. They see the depth they’ve built through their farm system and free agency as a means to cover innings if Hendricks needs more time (or in case of an injury to any other starter throughout the season)."

Maddie Lee, Chicago Sun-Times

There is no question that the Cubs have compiled depth for their starting rotation. Marcus Stroman, Justin Steele, and Jameson Taillon are the clear first three pitchers in the Cubs' starting rotation and then the team has a plethora of arms in Drew Smyly, Adrian Sampson, Hayden Wesneski, Javier Assad, and Caleb Killian that could fill out the remaining two spots in the Cubs' rotation.

New York Mets approaching decision regarding Carlos Correa

The New York Mets appear to be nearing a decision regarding what to do regarding their negotiations with free-agent shortstop Carlos Correa.

"“While I can’t speak on the player, I do believe we’ll have a resolution soon one way or the other,” Cohen told Tyler Ward, a Mets YouTuber, at a Citi Field event on Saturday."

Jon Heyman, New York Post

The latest from Cohen seems to match with what was reported earlier this week with Correa's agent, Scott Boras, opening back up negotiations with other teams. It seems unlikely that the Cubs would jump back into the conversation with Correa as the Minnesota Twins may be the team to watch if the Mets back away from negotiations.

Chicago Cubs' right fielder Seiya Suzuki ramping up for the start of the season.

Shohei Ohtani working magic with his slider

Happy birthday to to the late Bruce Sutter