EXIT STRATEGY?
HAMMEL IRATE AFTER QUICK HOOK; FUTURE WITH CUBS TENUOUS
LOS ANGELES — Cubs manager Joe Maddon dropped a ‘‘ seminal moment’’ on the impressive relief outing Saturday by rookie lefthander Rob Zastryzny.
But the reason Zastryzny was pitching in the third inning against the Dodgers marked a more significant moment in the relationship between the Cubs and veteran right- hander Jason Hammel.
Hammel, who was hooked early several times in the second half of last season as he came back from a leg injury, was pulled from the Cubs’ 3- 2 loss to the Dodgers one out into the third. He was visibly angry when Maddon approached the mound to remove him, sought answers in a closed- door meeting with him after the game and didn’t hide his irritation while talking with the media afterward.
‘‘ I didn’t even pitch today, in my mind; I barely threw 40 pitches,’’ said Hammel, who actually threw 39. ‘‘ It was a side day for me, pretty much.’’
On Friday, Maddon was asked about the future of his rotation in the context of the Cubs putting newcomer Mike Montgomery in the mix for next season. All five starters from this season would be back, provided the Cubs pick up Hammel’s option. Maddon deferred to the front office.
But it’s becoming clear where Hammel stands in the Cubs’ plans beyond this season, and it’s apparently becoming clearer to him, too.
Hammel, who has been a significant part of the Cubs’ majorleague- leading rotation this season, was all but assured of falling short of the 200 innings he needed to vest his $ 12 million option for 2017 even before pitching a combined 5⅔ innings in his last two starts.
Assuming he falls short, it would become a club option with a $ 2 million buyout. That makes the Cubs’ likeliest courses of action to buy him out or, more likely, to pick up the option and shop him in a winter pitching market thin on free- agent starters.
On this day, Maddon said the quick hook was all about the Dodgers’ lefty- leaning lineup that only figured to keep hitting Hammel and an opportunity to see what Zas- tryzny could do in a game that was still close.
‘‘ Of course, he didn’t like what I told him, but I had to tell him,’’ Maddon said of the meeting with Hammel. ‘‘ He was not happy with me taking him out that early.
“And that’s cool. I’m not going to make an excuse why I did what I did. It was the right thing do to today, based on what I saw, what their lineup looked like and Rob Z’s availability.’’
Hammel ( 13- 7, 3.21 ERA) said he counted only two hard hits against him: a home run by Corey Seager in the first and a double by Andrew Toles in the third.
‘‘ Other than that, I feel like their hits found the holes,’’ said Hammel, whose relationship with Maddon goes back to their days with the Rays. ‘‘ It is what it is.’’
Hammel, who was 6- 0 with a 0.95 ERA in his first six starts after the All- Star break, refused to detail his postgame meeting with Maddon or how he felt about it afterward.
‘‘ There’s no reason for that to be in the papers,’’ he said. ‘‘ It’s a professional way of looking at it. So we’re going to leave it at that.’’
He did say his issue had nothing to do with anything that happened last season. As for whether it was about broader issues than the one- day considerations Maddon described, Hammel said: ‘‘ That’s a topic that’s between me and Joe.’’
At the very least, Maddon’s actions with Hammel in the last 13 months can’t bode well for his rotation status as the Cubs move toward October.
When Hammel was asked about whether he had dealt with a pattern of quick hooks at other career stops, he said: ‘‘ I’m not going to talk about that. It’s just ridiculous. We can stop asking that question.’’
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