HOUSTON — Will Ted Lilly make his next start for the Cubs on Monday? The team may not know until Saturday afternoon.
The left-hander remains a target of teams interested in adding starting pitching for the stretch run prior to Saturday's 3 p.m. CT Trade Deadline. According to reports, there are at least five teams interested in Lilly, including the Tigers, Dodgers, Twins, Mets and Phillies.
However, the Twins are believed to be on Lilly's no-trade list. He has a partial no-trade clause in his contract with the Cubs. Lilly will be a free agent after this season.
In his last start on Tuesday against the Astros, Lilly threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings, giving up five hits, three walks and striking out eight. He was pulled because his pitch count had reached 113.
"You hear about [trade rumors], you read about it, you hear people talk about it, you guys ask me questions," Lilly said. "There's no doubt I've thought about it. Again, that's one of those things you have to deal with, things in this game that don't necessarily have anything to do with locating the fastball."
An All-Star last season, Lilly is 3-8 with a 3.69 ERA and receives the least amount of run support in the Major Leagues.
On Wednesday, Derrek Lee and the Cubs confirmed that the first baseman is staying put for the remainder of the season. Lee invoked his 10-and-5 rights regarding a proposed deal to the Angels, saying he wanted to stay in Chicago because it was a better decision for his family.
"I've been here four years with him and he's a professional," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said of Lee. "He likes it here. From my standpoint as a manager, I'm very pleased that he's staying around and hopefully gets nice and hot for us and helps us win more baseball games."
But what about the rest of the roster? Following Wednesday's 8-1 loss to the Astros, the Cubs now are 46-56 and well back in the National League Central. Second baseman Ryan Theriot's name also has been mentioned in rumors, with the Padres and Rockies reportedly interested.
"You try not to think about it as much as you can but you're only human," Theriot said Wednesday. "I've said it before and I'll say it again, Chicago is where I started and where I want to stay. It is a business, and we'll see what happens.
"I don't know how much truth there is [to the reports]. I know there are teams with some needs. From my end, I haven't heard anything and I haven't talked to management about it at all."
The Cubs will be making a move of their own on Friday, when Carlos Zambrano rejoins the team for the first time since June 25. He's been on the restricted list following his dugout tantrum.