Lackey, 38, seems likely to retire after this season, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

EDGE Analysis

Lackey has not confirmed this, but Jon Lester, who is Lackey's closest friend in baseball, said as much during the Cubs' celebration Wednesday after clinching the NL Central. "Tonight was probably (Lackey's) last regular-season start. Here's to one hell of a career," Lester said to teammates after Wednesday's game. The veteran righty certainly could find work if he wanted to after this season, but he doesn't really have anything left to prove, so it would make sense if he retired. Lackey has a career 188-146 record, 3.91 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 19.1 percent strikeout rate. It is unclear if he will be a part of the postseason rotation.