Levine: Jake Arrieta Not Concerned About Blister

By Bruce Levine--

MESA, Ariz. (CBS) -- Despite leaving his start against the Giants in the first inning Thursday with a blister on his thumb, Cubs ace Jake Arrieta remained upbeat about making his next start on Tuesday. After making 34 pitches and retiring just one San Francisco batter, Arrieta was taken out of the game by manager Joe Maddon after two visits to the mound.

Arrieta was dealing with a blister in another area of his right thumb a week ago. This blister began to manifest itself during his outing at Scottsdale Stadium, and he ended up being accountable for five earned runs.

"It's really not that bad," Arrieta told reporters afterward. "It's just something I need to give a couple of days and let the skin harden around it, try to get that thing out of there."

After going 22-6 with a 1.77 ERA while winning the Cy Young in 2015, Arrieta signed a one-year $10.7-million contract with the Cubs in February, avoiding an arbitration hearing. As he looks to pick up where he left off, Arrieta said he had a blister in another part of his thumb a week ago.

"Two days after I had that, I was able to throw a bullpen with no problem," Arrieta said. "We are not in any trouble of missing any time or having to be skipped."

Despite the short work Thursday that throws his spring plan off a bit -- Arrieta was supposed to build up to about 100 pitches -- the pitch count issue should be solvable for Arrieta, who will try to build to 80 or so in his next outing .He will  get five days of rest before starting the season opener against the Angels on April 4.

The treatment for Arrieta includes using pickle juice to harden the skin on the thumb. Cubs trainers also used Neosporin to help heal the effected area.

Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.