John Lackey is reportedly planning to pitch again in 2018 and his second half performance in 2017 might justify the Cubs bringing him back. After all, the hurler redeemed his 5.20 first-half ERA with a 3.75 mark following the All-Star break.
With two rotation spots to fill, re-signing Lackey wouldn’t be that crazy, right?
Well, it might be a little crazy. Although it was strong to quite strong, Lackey’s second half was clouded by unsustainable stuff (i.e., sequencing, luck, randomness, etc.). And when comparing Lackey’s body of work from last season to his portfolio in 2016, we find that Father Time finally caught up to one of the oldest active pitchers in MLB.