Matt Garza to have MRI

Is more bad news on the way for Matt Garza? (Getty Images)

As noted in this very space, Cubs right-hander Matt Garza was forced to cut short his Sunday throwing session because of a strained lat muscle. Now, reports Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, Garza is bound for an MRI.

"The good news is his arm felt really strong," Cubs GM Jed Hoyer said. "It's unfortunate for sure, and it's going to set him back a little bit. But we're still really confident. Our concern obviously was with the elbow injury that shut him down last year."

As Sullivan notes, any kind of lengthy setback would put Garza behind schedule enough to land him on the DL to start the season.

Garza, 29, is coming off a 2012 season in which he pitched to a 3.91 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 103 2/3 innings. As Hoyer mentioned, Garza missed almost 70 games with a stress fracture in his elbow.

Garza is eligible for free agency following the upcoming season, and the Cubs are certainly hoping he'll be healthy enough to warrant an extension or be an attractive target leading up to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

For more baseball news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnBaseball on Twitter, subscribe to the RSS feed and "like" us on Facebook. Also, individually interact with us on Twitter: @MattSnyder27, @daynperry and @mikeaxisa.