Cubs right-hander Marcus Stroman’s bullpen Monday at the team’s Arizona Complex seems to have gone off without a hitch. 

“It was clean,” manager David Ross said. “No real issues. “He’ll throw another one soon.”

The team will evaluate how Stroman (fractured rib cartilage) recovers Tuesday and discuss next steps. But Ross cautioned against raising expectations too high. 

“He’s got to build up a pretty good pitch count, start facing hitters, maybe throw some live [batting practice],” Ross said. “He’s got a little ways to go.”

Ross said Stroman has been excited about how his work in Arizona has gone. And he’s already progressed in the first steps of his throwing program more quickly than expected. Stroman also hasn’t pitched in a game since late July. His rib cartilage injury came on the heels of an issue with his right hip that likely affected his mechanics and eventually landed him on the injured list. From that standpoint, a minor-league rehab assignment could make sense. 

“I don’t know if it makes sense to take a guy from throwing bullpens or live BPs and throwing them into a pennant race from where he’s at,” Ross said. “But that’s where I stand right now with a healthy rotation that’s pitching really good, and everybody is doing well. And hopefully that continues all the way to in the season, and then that’s a good problem to have.

“I think a healthy version of him is a good thing for us, however we use that.” 

What if Stroman is healthy enough to play in games but not built up to a starter’s workload before the end of the season?

“Right now, we’re just getting him built back up as far as we can,” Ross said. “We’ll see what the timeframe is.”