Matt Garza’s rehab from a strained lat muscle was put on hold this week after he was scratched from his first start with Double-A Tennessee due to what was termed as a “dead arm,” but it sounds like it was only a minor setback.
Cubs manager Dale Sveum told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times this afternoon that Garza is expected to resume throwing by Saturday. If all goes well, he could make a minor league rehab start by the end of next week.
Garza began experiencing some symptoms after he threw a simulated game and a bullpen session last weekend in Milwaukee, but the Cubs are confident that his issue is muscular in nature and not structural. Either way, while he was initially aiming to return by the middle of next month, late-May now looks like the best-case scenario.
Garza, an impending free agent, was limited to just 18 starts last season due to a stress reaction in his right elbow. He’ll need prove his health in order for the rebuilding Cubs to generate any trade interest.
