Carlos Zambrano serves up homer to Cubs teammate in first Venezuelan start - MLB

Carlos Zambrano made his first Venezuelan winter league start yesterday and his Cubs teammate Bryan LaHair took him deep as part of 2.2 innings of two-run ball.

Zambrano last started for the Cubs three months ago, so Los Caribes de Anzoátegui is limiting his workload for now. He needed 60 pitches to record eight outs and issued two walks, hit one batter, and committed a throwing error.

And according to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune the crowd gave Zambrano a standing ovation as he exited the game in the middle of the third inning.

Theo Epstein has said the Cubs are in favor of Zambrano pitching in Venezuela and plan to have someone on hand to watch his starts, so his performance may determine whether they eat a big portion of his $18 million salary to make a trade or decide to simply hang onto Zambrano for the final year of his $91.5 million contract.

CINCINNATI — The Los Angeles Dodgers placed pitcher Noah Syndergaard on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a blister on the index finger of his right throwing hand.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the timetable for Syndergaard’s return is unknown despite the 15-day designation.

“The physical, the mental, the emotional part, as he’s talked about, has taken a toll on him,” Roberts said. “So, the ability to get him away from this. He left today to go back to Los Angeles to kind of get back to normalcy.”

Syndergaard allowed six runs and seven hits in three innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night, raising his ERA to 7.16.

Syndergaard (1-4) has surrendered at least five runs in three straight starts.

Syndergaard has been trying to return to the player he was before Tommy John surgery sidelined him for the better part of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Roberts said Syndergaard will need at least “a few weeks” to both heal and get away from baseball and “reset.”

“I think searching and not being comfortable with where he was at in the moment is certainly evident in performance,” Roberts said. “So hopefully this time away will provide more clarity on who he is right now as a pitcher.

“Trying to perform when you’re searching at this level is extremely difficult. I applaud him from not running from it, but it’s still very difficult. Hopefully it can be a tale of two stories, two halves when he does come back.”