Cubs Name Arrieta Starter For Opening Day, Molina Important to Cardinals

National League Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta will start Opening Day when the Chicago Cubs take on the Los Angeles Angels, manager Joe Maddon announced Tuesday morning.

It'll be Arrieta's second Opening Day start after getting the nod for the Baltimore Orioles in 2012.

"It's another surprise," Maddon joked about the announcement. "Of course he's very excited about it. He's earned that right."

Arrieta went 22-7 with a 1.77 ERA in 2015, producing the lowest post-All-Star break ERA (0.75) in history. He also threw a no-hitter last season and a complete game in the Cubs' wild-card victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, striking out 11 while giving up just four hits.

Arrieta will be followed in the rotation by Jon Lester and John Lackey, though Maddon indicated Lackey could go ahead of Lester depending on the matchup the team desires. Last season Lester pitched Opening Day while Arrieta started Game 2.

The Cubs' top three pitchers will make their spring debuts next week.

Lester started Opening Day for the Cubs last season, his first with the team after signing a big free-agent contract.

"I'm more than happy for Jake," he said. "Once you get named its kind of exciting and stuff but its one of those days that kind of sucks. I think it's one of the hardest days of the year to pitch. A lot of distractions and things going on. A lot of outside things that are hard to control.

"But we all knew he was going to get that honor. I'm excited for him. It's a cool deal."

Molina Generates Headlines

When Yadier Molina had a cast removed from his twice surgically repaired left thumb about a month ago, it generated national headlines. When he first strapped on his catcher's gear one day last week, everybody in the clubhouse took note.

When he squatted behind the plate and started catching lobs from Adam Wainwright Monday morning, every media member in camp angled over to take photos and videos with their phones.

St. Louis Cardinals spring training camp has become a waiting room, with everybody anxiously anticipating word from the team’s medical staff about Molina’s progress. When and, more importantly, how he comes out of this latest injury could be the fulcrum on which this team’s season hinges.

That’s how vital Molina is to the way this team functions.

“You talk about the other catchers we have in camp, they’re all quality catchers. But you’re talking about possibly the best defensive catcher of our generation, at least, and someone who’s got to be in talks, at least, for the best defensive catcher ever. In the talks,” Wainwright said. “So, when you realize that, it’s not that we couldn’t go out there and get outs without Yadier. It’s that we can do it a whole lot better with him.”

Chapman Suspended 30 Games

New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman has been suspended 30 games by commissioner Rob Manfred under Major League Baseball's new domestic violence policy for his involvement in an alleged incident in October.

Chapman will not appeal the suspension, the first handed out under a policy that MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association jointly agreed to in August following several high-profile incidents among NFL players.