James Russell (arm) will make his Cactus League debut Wednesday.

Russell has dealt with some arm fatigue this spring, which is no surprise given that he leads all left-handed relievers with 151 appearances over the past two seasons. Cubs manager Rick Renteria indicated that he'll be careful with Russell's usage this season. "Obviously, he pitched a lot," Renteria said. "I'm very cognizant of pitcher usage. I'm very cognizant of how many times they get up in the bullpen. I'm very cognizant of how many pitches they throw in a given day. Am I aware of it? Yes."

James Russell (arm) threw a successful bullpen session on Friday and could be ready for game action by the end of next week.

Russell has been battling arm fatigue early on in camp, but the issue isn't believed to be anything serious. The 28-year-old southpaw posted a 3.59 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 37/18 K/BB ratio in 52 2/3 innings for the Cubs in 2013.

James Russell (arm) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Friday in Cubs camp.

Russell has been slowed by some early-spring arm fatigue, but it's a yearly occurrence for him and he fully expects to be ready for the opening of the regular season.

James Russell has yet to appear in a Cactus League game this spring because of arm fatigue.

The early-spring fatigue is normal for Russell, who expects to be fine within the next week. He should open the 2014 season as a prominent member of the Cubs bullpen.

Cubs avoided arbitration with LHP James Russell by agreeing to a one-year, $1.77 million contract.

It was Russell's second year of arbitration eligibility. The lefty reliever has put up a 3.39 ERA over the last two years for the Cubs and will be a key reliever for them again in 2014.

Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com reports that the Cubs nearly traded James Russell to the Braves last week.

The Braves aren't an option anymore after their acquisition of Scott Downs, but it does signify that Russell is very much available. The southpaw didn't do himself any favors with a rocky showing Tuesday, but he entered the day holding left-handed batters to a .179/.235/.269 batting line.

James Russell gave up a three-run homer after taking over in the eighth inning to take a blown save and a loss Tuesday against the A's.

Just one of the two baserunners was his; the other run was charged to Blake Parker, who retired five of the six hitters he faced in the seventh and eighth. At this point, Parker would seem to be the better bet than Russell for saves if Kevin Gregg is traded. The newly acquired Pedro Strop could leapfrog them both, though.

CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reports that teams have asked the Cubs about James Russell, but they are not inclined to trade him.

They would surely consider it if they're blown away by an offer. However, they're in no rush to deal Russell, who holds a 2.22 ERA and 1.06 WHIP and is still relatively cheap with a $1.08 million salary in his first year of arbitration.

James Russell has emerged as one of the Cubs' few bright spots in 2013, checking in with a 1.04 ERA and 0.87 WHIP in 23 appearances.

The former 14th-round pick also has seven holds and a 19/4 K/BB ratio over 17 1/3 innings. Russell has regressed a bit since an April in which he didn't allow a run, but he's lowered his ERA every season he's been in the majors. We expect him to do so again.

Cubs and RHP James Russell avoided arbitration by agreeing to a contract.

Terms haven't been disclosed. Russell was arbitration eligible for the first time this winter after posting a 3.25 ERA and 55/23 K/BB ratio over 69 1/3 innings last year. He figures to pitch in middle relief in 2013.

With Rafael Dolis demoted from the Cubs' closer role, the team is expected to use a combination of James Russell and Shawn Camp in the ninth inning.

Sveum said earlier this month that Russell and Dolis would share the role before Dolis briefly ran away with the job, so you'd think the lefty would be higher on the totem pole than Camp. But, Camp has pitched well of late and, since he throws right-handed, could get more chances in the matchups-based approach. Carlos Marmol (hamstring) is due back soon and figures to eventually get his old job back.

James Russell has yet to see a save opportunity since Carlos Marmol was removed from the closer role.

Cubs manager Dale Sveum said Russell and Rafael Dolis would share the role, but it's been Dolis used in both save chances even though he faced two left-handed batters while converting his first save and two lefties and a switch-hitter in his second chance. It appears that Russell, who holds a 0.73 ERA and 1.38 WHIP over 13 appearances, might only be used in the ninth inning on days where Dolis is unavailable.

James Russell has been bumped from the starting rotation to the bullpen.

The Cubs don't need a No. 5 starter for another two weeks, so Russell will now be used in relief. Barring a disaster, he's unlikely to make another start, as at least one of Randy Wells (forearm), Andrew Cashner (shoulder) or Doug Davis should be ready at that point.

James Russell gave up five runs -- four earned -- in 4 2/3 innings Monday in a loss to the Dodgers.

Although Randy Wells is still probably three weeks away, this should bring an end to the experiment of using Russell as a starter. He lost all four of his starts and hasn't even lasted five innings in any of them.

The Cubs are leaning towards giving James Russell one more spot start Tuesday.

We had just heard that he was still under consideration, and apparently he's the favorite. Russell has allowed eight runs over 5 2/3 innings in his previous two starts, but the Cubs simply don't have any other viable options right now.

James Russell hasn't been ruled out to make Tuesday's start.

The Cubs want to replace Russell in the rotation, but the problem is that they might not have any better options. Of the other candidates, Ramon Ortiz gave up three runs and seven hits in three innings in his last outing, and Austin Bibens-Dirkx and Thomas Diamond sport ERAs of 7.31 and 8.78, respectively. ``Everything is on the table,'' manager Mike Quade said. ``I have to sit down with [general manager Jim Hendry] and [assistant GM Randy Bush]. I'll talk to [Iowa manager] Bill Dancy and the minor-league guys. They have a better feel than I do [of their pitchers].''

Cubs manager Mike Quade hasn't decided whether left-hander James Russell will start Tuesday against the Rockies.

Russell has been awful over his first two spot-starts, so we can't blame him. "If we have another option, if we have someone who is ready, I'd like to explore that," said Quade. "Everything's on the table still until we take a closer look at it." It's not clear where the Cubs will turn, but Thomas Diamond or Austin Bibens-Dirkx are possibilities.

James Russell was ineffective as the Cubs dropped the second game of a double-header to the Padres on Wednesday, allowing seven hits and four runs in just four innings.

Russell didn't have a great shot at making it longer than four innings, as he was on a 65-to-75 pitch limit, but it was still a disappointing evening for the fill-in starter. He is not worth a look in NL-only leagues.

Cubs manager Mike Quade said James Russell will be limited to 65-75 pitches in his start Tuesday.

He threw 55 in his start on April 12 before making two relief appearances since then. Jeff Samardzija will likely follow Russell out of the bullpen.

James Russell will start Tuesday against the Padres.

The Cubs were deciding between Russell and Jeff Samardzija for the opening, and it sure says something about the club's confidence in Samardzija that he wasn't picked. Russell made a relief appearance on Saturday night but is still getting the call.