Earlier this season, Marcus Stroman was among the Cy Young Trophy contenders in the Nationals. The Cubs starter had a very solid start to the season, earning an All-Star Game nomination.
However, things went downhill in July, when he maintained a 9.11 ERA in six starts last month. We suspected that something was wrong, and as a matter of fact, the gunner was injured.
We were talking about hip pain.
The Cubs were hoping to see him back in a few days, but sadly, they got some more bad news related to their starter today: Stroman’s injury is more serious than we thought.
In fact, Stroman suffers from a cartilage fracture in a rib on the right side of his body. For football fans, it’s the same injury suffered by Justin Herbert (the quarterback of the Los Angeles Chargers) last season: he hasn’t been absent, but it really limits a player.
At this time, the Cubs are unable to estimate a return date for their starter. It’s not a good sign, usually.
Stroman pitched on Sunday and reported pain afterwards. We can imagine that he will be kept away for the next few days, so we should probably not expect to see him again in August.
The question now is whether we will see him again in September… or simply in 2023.
It’s obviously a blow for the Cubs, who are in the thick of the playoff race and need help in their rotation. Justin Steele is very solid and Javier Assad is a nice surprise, but behind them there are few trusted gunners.
Kyle Hendricks and Jameson Taillon are good veterans, but they don’t necessarily have great seasons. A healthy Stroman is much better, let’s say.
It is therefore without their pitching ace that the Cubs will have to continue to fight for a place in the playoffs. The club have lost some ground to the Brewers recently, but with a huge three-game series between the two clubs due in about ten days, they can still catch up.
Barring a miracle, though, they’ll just have to do it without Stroman’s services.
