Cubs right-hander Adbert Alzolay diagnosed with lat strain, ‘very disappointed’

MESA, Ariz. – Adbert Alzolay cracked a smile when asked how his curveball had been coming along.

“Oh, it was feeling really, really good,” he said.

But he won’t get the chance to debut it anytime soon. About three and a half weeks ago, Alzolay felt discomfort in his shoulder during a bullpen session. He cut his work short and went to the doctor. Eventually, he was diagnosed with a lat strain, similar to the injury he sustained in 2018.

The rest of the conversation Tuesday took a more somber tone. Alzolay will start the season on the injured list, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer announced on Monday. There is no timeline for his return yet.

Alzolay said he had a platelet-rich plasma shot about a week ago.

“It’s just now sit and wait until the PRP gets there and works to heal the muscle and I can start throwing again,” he said.

It’s expected to be a few weeks before Alzolay can resume activities.

“I just feel very disappointed,” Alzolay said. “I feel that I have put in a lot of work to protect that area after I got hurt [in 2018], and the offseason program that I was doing [the past] five months, I feel like I just pretty much wasted all that work.”