MESA, Ariz. _ Left-hander Jon Lester will make his seventh Opening-Day start March 29 when the Cubs begin their 2018 season against the Marlins in Miami.
Manager Joe Maddon made the announcement Tuesday before Lester's spring-training debut against the crosstown-rival White Sox.
"I wanted him to know how impressed I've been with him already this camp, beyond what he's done in the past," Maddon said. "There's this organic change in him right now that I'm loving. He's feeling this leadership thing, but he's not forcing it whatsoever. I really appreciate that. For me, leadership is kind of taken _ not given to you. You have to grow into this spot, and people start to follow you.
"When you get elected to something, that doesn't necessarily mean you're a leader. It just means you've been elected. People that want to follow, normally it occurs organically. And you have this thing about you that people find interesting and they want to follow it and be part of that and listen to what you say."
Maddon withheld naming the rest of the rotation until pitching coach Jim Hickey informed the other starters. Maddon did acknowledge the sculpting of the rotation was based on the Cubs' schedule in the first month.
Lester also is lined up to pitch the Cubs' home opener April 9 against the Pirates. That would give Lester the distinction of becoming the fourth pitcher in Cubs history to start the team's season opener and home opener. Grover Cleveland (1920, 1922), Rick Sutcliffe (1986, 1988) and Jon Lieber (2000) were the others.
And the rotation is lined up so that three right-handed starters _ Yu Darvish, Kyle Hendricks and Tyler Chatwood _ will face the Brewers and their predominantly right-handed-hitting lineup in a four-game series April 5-8 at Miller Park.
Lester, 34, made four Opening-Day starts with the Red Sox and pitched season openers for the Cubs in 2015 and 2017, joining Hippo Vaughn (1915, 1917, 1919) and Paul Minner (1952, 1954) as the third left-hander in franchise history to make more than one opening-day start. Lester went 13-8 with a 4.33 ERA in 32 starts last season.
"A lot of the veterans are gone, and he's out there," said Maddon, referring to the likes of free agents Jake Arrieta and John Lackey. "He's been around a lot of good folks in his time. I don't think he walked into camp thinking I'm going necessarily do this. It's just occurring."
