Chicago Cubs starter Marcus Stroman has a right rib cartilage fracture and there is no timeline on his return to the rotation, the team announced Wednesday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Stroman was placed on the 15-day injured list with right hip inflammation on Aug. 2. He and the team stressed at the time that he would miss only one start due to the days off built into the schedule.
- But the 32-year-old felt right rib discomfort after Sunday’s bullpen session in Toronto, Cubs manager David Ross said Tuesday, and the team scrapped its plan to activate Stroman for Wednesday’s game against the Chicago White Sox.
- Stroman has had an up-and-down season and can opt out of his contract or stick with the Cubs next year on a guaranteed salary of at least $21 million.
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
What we know about Stroman
Stroman experienced discomfort at some point after completing Sunday’s bullpen session in Toronto, which was supposed to be a final tuneup before starting Wednesday’s game at Wrigley Field. The Cubs anticipated that would be the last box checked for Stroman, who’s on the injured list with right hip inflammation. Stroman will not do any baseball activities until he’s symptom-free. At this stage, the Cubs don’t know how this rib injury happened or when Stroman will be cleared to pitch again. — Mooney
Who steps up?
While weighing the options to continue filling in for Stroman, Ross said he is leaning heavily toward the idea of moving lefty Drew Smyly out of the bullpen and back into the rotation. Javier Assad will get Wednesday’s spot start and Hayden Wesneski is positioned to take on a larger role. The Cubs also have some intriguing pitching prospects, such as Ben Brown and Jordan Wicks, who could eventually become factors in the late stages of the season. But a healthy Stroman would clearly represent the biggest boost.
“Disappointed, obviously,” Ross said of Stroman’s absence. “We just got to wait and see how long and how much pain he’s actually in. Getting him back, we’re going to have to rely on him being symptom-free. How long that takes? Nobody really knows. It’s up in the air. It’s bad news, but somebody will step up and pitch well and we’ll keep this train rolling. I know he’ll work his way back and try to help us out.” — Mooney
Backstory
The two-time All-Star has a 3.85 ERA over 23 starts (128 2/3 innings) this season. But he hasn’t made it more than 3 2/3 innings over his last three starts and has allowed 27 earned runs over six starts since July 1 (13 of them over his last two outings).
The Cubs are 61-58, second in the National League Central and one game out of a wild-card spot.
Required reading
(Photo: Patrick Gorski / USA Today)
