Cubs will continue resting Arrieta

The Cubs are giving pitching ace Jake Arrieta the maximum amount of rest available coming out of the four-day all-star break.

Arrieta, who last pitched July 8 in an 8-4 loss at Pittsburgh, won't start again until Tuesday night against the New York Mets at Wrigley Field.

He did not pitch in the All-Star Game, preferring to rest, and team president Theo Epstein said any criticism Arrieta took from that decision wasn't warranted.

"I don't think the criticism was really fair because he was available," said Epstein, noting that Arrieta said he could have pitched if needed. "Talking to him, he had a great week. He has a great look about him. He's feeling really good about himself. I think he had exactly the kind of week he wanted to have, needed to have, to get him locked in for the second half. So I feel good that he had a fulfilling week."

The Cubs went with Kyle Hendricks Friday to start the unofficial second half of the season. He'll be followed by Jason Hammel and John Lackey this weekend against the Rangers. Jon Lester will open against the Mets on Monday, followed by Arrieta and Hendricks.

For the season, Arrieta is 12-4 with a 2.68 ERA. But over his last 4 starts, he has a 6.75 ERA, having given up 16 earned runs in 21⅓ innings.

Cubs make roster moves:

The Cubs activated catcher David Ross off the seven-day concussion disabled list. To make room, they officially optioned infielder Munenori Kawasaki to Class AAA Iowa.

Reliever Trevor Cahill went on the DL with patellar tendinitis in his right knee. The Cubs activated left-handed reliever Clayton Richard off the DL. Richard had been out with a finger blister and fingernail injury.

"The knee has been bumming him out a little bit for a while," manager Joe Maddon said of Cahill. "So we thought it's just best to give him a break with that. He's had some time off, so he's not that far off from being able to pitch again and getting back to us."

Richard had been rehabbing in the minor leagues.

"It's and off-and-on thing," Richard said of the blister. "It comes and goes, but at the time, it was just something we had to take a look at and stay on top of it. I felt good just coming out of spring training. Other than that little issue, I felt physically good the whole year. I feel locked in, and I'm ready to go."

Richard's season got off to a rough start, as he went 0-1 with a 7.30 ERA before he went on the DL.

Inching closer:

The Cubs are hoping to have center fielder Dexter Fowler back by the end of next week. Fowler has been on the DL nearly a month with a right-hamstring strain. He played in a rehab game last week at Class A South Bend but could not play in the All-Star Game.

Joe Maddon said outfielder Jorge Soler is progressing from a left-hamstring injury that put him on the DL in early June. Joe Maddon said there is "no finish line" yet for Soler as far as being activated.

Gametime change:

The Cubs' July 31 game against the Seattle Mariners at Wrigley Field has been picked up by ESPN, and will start at 7:08 p.m. for Sunday Night Baseball. The game originally was set for 1:20 p.m.

The deadline dash:

The Cubs have signed 24 players selected in the June amateur draft in advance of today's signing deadline. The most recent signings were right-handed pitcher Michael Rucker (11th round), infielder Delvin Zinn (23rd round) and right-hander Nathan Sweeney (33rd round). Right-hander Thomas Hatch, the Cubs top pick (third round), also signed recently.