PITTSBURGH -- An MRI on Yu Darvish's right arm revealed no structural damage and the Cubs right hander could begin his throwing program as early as this weekend. In the meantime, lefty Mike Montgomery will sub for at least one more start on Saturday against the Mets.
Darvish (1-3, 4.95 ERA), who is on the disabled list for the second time this season, was scratched from his start last Sunday because of discomfort in his right triceps. The Cubs said the MRI revealed Darvish has right triceps inflammation.
The Cubs wanted to be careful with Darvish since he underwent elbow surgery in 2015 and missed that entire season.
"It doesn't sound awful and he'll get on his program," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said on Wednesday. "It's good news on his side pretty much."
The 31-year-old right-hander, who signed a six-year, $126 million contract with the Cubs in February, went on the DL on May 7 because of flu-like symptoms. In five of his eight starts this season, Darvish has been unable to complete the fifth inning.
There's no timetable for Darvish's return, so Montgomery will stay in the rotation for now. The lefty went 5 2/3 innings against the Pirates in Monday's 7-0 win.
"You never do this with five legitimate Major League starters," Maddon said. "You need hopefully seven who you feel good about, or eight. [Montgomery] pitched well the last time out. There's no reason to believe he can't do that again. The strike-throwing was good. If he's throwing strikes with his fastball, you know he'll have a pretty good day."