Cubs' Stroman on Rib Injury: 'I'm Still Trying to Process It'
Chicago Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman spoke for the first time on Friday about the right rib cartilage fracture that scuttled his chance to return from the injured list on Wednesday.
Stroman spoke to the Chicago Tribune about the injury before the Cubs’ game with the Kansas City Royals on Friday.
Earlier this week, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said that Stroman’s injury wasn’t a “common pitching injury.”
Stroman had a similar reaction.
“I mean, I don’t have an answer, man,” Stroman said. “I don’t have any answers as far as how I got it.”
The Cubs said that Stroman reported some discomfort well after his last bullpen session on Sunday in Toronto. He reported it well after the Cubs tentatively penciled him into start Wednesday’s game against the Chicago White Sox, which would have been the day he was eligible to come off the 15-day injured list with right hip inflammation.
But the discomfort, per the Tribune, actually made it difficult for Stroman to breathe at one point and he required attention from the training staff to rule out more serious issues.
An MRI revealed the fracture on Monday.
Hoyer hasn’t put a timetable on Stroman’s return. Stroman wouldn’t either but indicated that he won’t be traveling with the team for a little while.
“It’s got to heal itself and its hopefully a few weeks, like, I can’t go anywhere,” Stroman said. “I’m still trying to process it, honestly.”
Stroman has been one of the Cubs’ best pitchers this season, but his performance took a noticeable dip after the All-Star break, as the hip issue became more of a problem.
Stroman is 10-8 with a 3.85 ERA in 23 starts, with 111 strikeouts and 50 walks.
In his last five starts before going on the IL he gave up at least four runs in four of them, went 2-3 and didn’t finish four innings in his last three starts.
More From SI's Inside The Cubs
1. Could Mike Trout Request a Trade to the Chicago Cubs?
2. Did David Robertson Net the Cubs a Future Star in Ben Brown?
3. Hoerner is the Cubs Shortstop of the Future
4. Cubs Could Give Canario a Shot in September
5. Could the Cubs Land Trea Turner in the Offseason?
6. Chicago Cubs Have a New Top Prospect in Their Rankings
7. Is This Top Cubs Prospect Destined for the Mound at Wrigley?
8. Steele Offers Glimpse Into Future of Cubs Rotation
9. Do the Chicago Cubs Have the National League's Best Bullpen?