Looks like Jon Lester is going to have to do the whole John Lackey tribute thing all over again.
Lackey, the right-hander who appeared to be riding off into the sunset after the Cubs were eliminated from the playoffs three weeks ago, has wheeled his horse around and decided to pitch in 2018 after all, according to a report Tuesday by Jon Heyman of Fanragsports.com.
So much for Cubs rotation mate Lester’s emotional clubhouse tribute the night the Cubs clinched the National League Central in St. Louis to ‘‘one of the best teammates, one of the best people, I ever got to play with.’’
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Lackey, who turned 39 last month, remained publicly undecided and mum on the subject as the Cubs played into two rounds of the postseason and scattered for the winter.
After finishing as a reliever during the playoffs — where he gave up a walk-off home run to the Dodgers’ Justin Turner in his first postseason call from the bullpen — Lackey doesn’t appear to be a fit for the Cubs in 2018, even for one season.
Lackey went 23-20 with a 3.94 ERA in 59 starts and a relief appearance for the Cubs in the last two seasons. He is a three-time World Series winner, including with the 2016 Cubs.
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Email: gwittenmyer@suntimes.com
