The Cubs’ roster moves Wednesday unveiled a contributing factor in right-hander Marcus Stroman’s recent struggles on the mound.
They put him on the 15-day injured list with inflammation in his right hip, making room on the roster for trade deadline addition José Cuas to join the bullpen.
“Beyond frustrating,” Stroman said of his recent results. “Because I do so much in between starts to get right and to focus on things. And when everything you’re doing is not fixing [it,] I feel like I just had to go to the root of the problem rather than trying to get around it.”
For the Cubs’ best shot at a playoff push, they’ll need Stroman healthy and back in rhythm. Stroman, an All-Star and one of the best pitchers in MLB early in the year, posted a 9.11 ERA in July. In his last start, he surrendered six runs in three innings against the Reds on Monday.
Stroman didn’t say exactly when the discomfort in his hip started, only that he’d been feeling it “for a bit.”
“One of those things that lingered, progressively got worse and got to the point where I couldn’t fire my glute, my quad, nothing around my hip at all,” he said. “… It just got to the point where I was doing too much with my upper body and trying to do so much without having a lower half.”
It was clear after Stroman’s last outing that he would have to miss a start, whether or not the Cubs put him on the IL.
“Still only going to miss one start with the off days we have, and he’ll be able to work on some stuff with the time he’s going to have down,” manager David Ross said. “So I thought it was an optimal time: we’re not going to have to be short-handed, and we’ve had other guys pitching really well, we were able to add Cuas to the bullpen to keep things stable for a little bit.”
The Cubs have three off days in the next couple weeks, giving them rotation flexibility. If all goes to plan, they’ll only have to use a fill-in for one spot start to cover Stroman’s time on the IL. Ross said he didn’t know who would start in Stroman’s place. But Javier Assad and Hayden Wesneski both have starting experience and are on the active roster.
Stroman said he received a cortisone shot in his hip on Wednesday. After a couple days, he’ll begin a strength and stability program. Time on the IL will also give him a chance to get his mechanics back on track once pain-free.
“I’m not even slightly worried,” Stroman said. “I know after this, I’m going to feel strong, … and I should be right to where I was.”