Feb. 17--MESA, Ariz. -- Spring training fans eager to see John Lackey make his Cubs debut or Jake Arrieta pitch for the first time since his 2015 National League Cy Young Award season might have to wait awhile.
There are no sirens blaring. It's just that, in the wake of last season's playoff run, the Cubs want to take a conservative approach to enhance their chances of advancing further in October.
"We're all aware of the inning totals that some of the guys have," pitching coach Chris Bosio said Wednesday. "They've never been in that area, but we'll plan accordingly for it."
It means Trevor Cahill and left-handers Travis Wood and Clayton Richard could start more games early in spring training with Jon Lester, Lackey and Arrieta pitching in the more controlled environment of B games.
"We have a pitching roster full of versatility," said Bosio, alluding to the success Cahill, Wood and Richard had in relief roles last year.
"So we're going to use our depth. We have the depth, so we're going to try to take advantage of it in a small way."
Before last season, manager Joe Maddon set 1,000 innings from his rotation as a goal. But struggles at the back end, coupled with a greater sense of urgency in the final two months as the Cubs battled for a playoff berth, resulted in more use of the bullpen.
As a result, Cubs starters pitched 9462/3 innings. That might seem like a disappointment, but only two teams -- the White Sox (1,011) and the Mets (1,0022/3) -- had rotations that pitched at least 1,000 innings.
Nevertheless, Lester reached the 200-inning mark for the seventh time in his career and finished with 219, including the postseason. Lackey, 37, logged 218 innings for the Cardinals during the regular season as he reached the 200-inning mark for the sixth time.
And Arrieta set a personal best with 229 innings and added 192/3 innings during the playoffs.
Bosio said the tight race for the playoffs last year meant that "Joe managed literally every at-bat to win."
The Cubs' priority was getting important outs, not babying pitchers.
"I don't think we would have been where we were if Joe would have managed differently," Bosio said.
To return to the playoffs, the Cubs will need Arrieta, Lester and Lackey to carry their share of the workload.
"Jake wants to have that dependency," said Kyle Hendricks, who threw a career-high 180 innings during the regular season. "That's the way he is. Lester and Lackey are the same say. It's healthy competition. That's how we want to have it.
"We want to have guys who throw complete games if they can."
mgonzales@tribpub.com
