Chicago Cubs ace right-hander Marcus Stroman has right rib cartilage fracture, according to The Athletic, and there is no timetable for his return. Stroman is currently on the injured list with hip inflammation and was expected to be activated earlier this week, though the team had to shut him down with soreness in his rib cage.
"Hopefully this Stro thing is not crazy serious and he's just pushed back," Cubs manager David Ross told The Athletic about Stroman's injury earlier this week. "And if it is, yeah, other guys got to step up."
Stroman, 32, was a leading National League Cy Young candidate earlier this season, then his performance went in the tank in July. He allowed 34 runs in the seven starts and 30 innings before going on the injured list. The Cubs hoped a quick injured list stint to deal with the hip inflammation would get him back on track, but now it seems Stroman will miss considerably more time.
Thanks to scheduled off-days, the Cubs have operated with a four-man rotation the last week or so and they can continue to do so for another week. At the moment, the rotation depth chart looks like this:
RHP Marcus Stroman (on injured list with hip and rib injuries)LHP Justin SteeleRHP Kyle HendricksRHP Jameson TaillonRHP Javier AssadLHP Drew Smyly (recently moved to the bullpen)RHP Hayden Wesneski (shuttled between Triple-A and MLB, and the rotation and bullpen this year)Assad has been a revelation the last few weeks, pitching to a 1.20 ERA since July 1. That includes seven innings of one-run ball against the Toronto Blue Jays last time out, in his second start since moving into the rotation. Smyly is more likely to slide into the rotation than Wesneski when a fifth starter is needed next.
Stroman's setback comes at a critical time for the Cubs. They are 3.5 games out in the NL Central and one game in the wild-card race, and they have an important series with the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers on the schedule later this month. Chicago is 33-21 in their last 54 games even with Stroman hurt and ineffective.
This is technically a contract season for Stroman, who can opt out of the final year and $21 million remaining on his contract. He pitched well enough earlier this year that opting out was a no-brainer. Now the hip and rib injuries create at least a little doubt about the opt out.
