Marcus Stroman loves Chicago.
Do the Cubs love him enough to keep him here? Stay tuned.
Stroman turned in another vintage effort on Saturday, pitching three-hit, one-run ball over six innings to earn his 10th win as the Cubs beat the Red Sox 10-4 before 40,224 at Wrigley Field.
With every start, the 32-year-old right-hander raises his stock as one of the premier targets ahead of the Aug. 1 trade deadline. He’s 10-6 with a 2.88 ERA and has allowed three or fewer earned runs in 15 of 19 starts.
If he keeps pitching like that and Cody Bellinger — coincidentally another subject of multiple trade rumors — keeps up the tear he’s been on since coming off the injured list, the Cubs might go on a roll and be buyers at the deadline.
But they still have some heavy lifting to do. The Cubs (43-48) began the day 6 1/2 games behind NL Central co-leaders Milwaukee and Cincinnati and seven games out of the final wild card.
As big a piece Stroman is, he’s only a piece and can’t save the season single-handedly. So he deals with it as he has other challenges, by tuning out the noise.
“I’m a 5-7 African American Puerto Rican,” he said. “There’s been a lot of noise in my life. So I have a small, small circle around me. Nothing changes. I’m very process-oriented. I’m not results-based.”
That process is extensive.
“I put so much work into this ... whether it be sleeping in a hyperbaric [chamber], waking up [and] doing dry needles [therapy], taking time to meditate in the morning,” Stroman said.
By sticking to that process, Stroman believes he’s best positioned to excel in the second half, when the 162-game grind might wear down other players. And he said it has him in better shape now than 10 years ago.
“By the time I wake up [Sunday] morning, I’ve already forgotten about [Saturday’s game] and I’m already working on how to prepare my body, my mind for my next one. ...
“People don’t understand this is my life.”
Whether all that is enough to keep him in Chicago remains to be seen. There are a lot of possible scenarios, but there’s one Stroman isn’t banking on: working out a contract extension before the deadline.
“I’m open to it, I just don’t think it’s going to happen,” Stroman said. “There’s zero hard feelings. I have a great relationship with Jed [Hoyer, president of baseball operations] and Carter [Hawkins, general manager], the Ricketts.
“I love everything here. I just don’t think they’re in a position to sign me before the deadline.”
So the trade watch continues.
“I know Belli wants to stay,” Stroman said. “I would love to stay here but a lot of that’s out of our control. At the end of the day it’s a business so we have to treat it as such — even though we have this love for the fan base and this organization. It’s kind of hard to separate at times.”
In the end, Stroman knows there’s only so much he can control.
“I’m very grateful to be a Cub,” he said. “And to be honest with you, however it plays out I’m good with it. I’m truly happy outside of here.So I think God’s got me no matter what.”