Cubs' Luke Little: Moves past lat issue

Little (lat) struck out two and scattered three hits over 1.1 scoreless innings in his Cactus League appearance Friday versus the Padres.

Little suffered a season-ending left lat strain last July and was eased along slowly in spring training, as he didn't make any appearances before the Cubs opened their campaign with a two-game set versus the Dodgers in Tokyo last week. The Cubs had already optioned Little to Triple-A Iowa on March 7, and his ability to make his spring debut Friday suggests that he'll likely avoid a stint on Iowa's injured list to begin the season. Little remains a member of the Cubs' 40-man roster and should have a good chance at surfacing in the big-league bullpen at some point in 2025.