Cubs P Jon Lester has played for years with bone chip in elbow
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Chicago Cubs pitcher Jon Lester has had a floating bone chip in his throwing elbow for years, but it has not affected his play, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
The chip, which was discovered during an offseason MRI before Lester signed with the Cubs in 2014, was first reported by Yahoo! Sports.
While neither Lester nor the organization are currently concerned by the chip, it could potentially create issues if it starts to move in the elbow.
"It's just a matter of hopefully it stays put, and we don't have any worry about it," Lester said to the Sun-Times. "And then if it does become a concern, if I start having inflammation or missing starts because of it, then that's when we'll probably sit down and talk to somebody about getting it removed. As of now, knock on wood, I haven't had any concern with it."
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Cubs team president Theo Epstein said Friday that the chip did not discourage him from signing Lester, 32, to a $155 million deal in 2014.
"We did a very thorough exam including imaging of the shoulder and elbow," Epstein said. "We were really quite pleased with the results, as Jon compared very favorably with most of the free agent pitchers we have examined and MRI'd over many years.
"Virtually all pitchers have some wear and tear on their shoulders and elbows, and Jon's imperfections were very manageable. He remains very consistent, as we hoped, throwing 200-plus quality innings yet again last season."
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Lester posted a 11–12 record with a 3.34 ERA in 32 starts in 2015.
