CHICAGO (670 The Score) – Suffering from a right rib cartilage fracture, Cubs right-hander Marcus Stroman is unsure whether he’ll be healthy enough to pitch again this season.
The 32-year-old Stroman has been sidelined since July 31, first by a hip ailment and now by his rib injury. The Cubs’ original plan was for him to return Wednesday, but he was scratched from that start after rib pain set in earlier this week.
Stroman threw a side session and took his usual infield practice Sunday, when the Cubs were on the road to play the Toronto Blue Jays. He then felt the pain, though he didn't have a definitive answer for how the injury occurred.
Asked how he’s feeling now, Stroman responded “OK” but admitted he’s “uncomfortable more than anything.”
"I threw my bullpen and got done with all of my work,” Stroman said Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field in his first media session since news of his rib injury broke. “After I cooled down, it was kind of hard to breathe, like kind of in my diaphragm, rib area. So I went through some things with the trainers. They thought it might be my appendix or gallbladder.”
The next step for Stroman and the medical staff was to determine if he needed immediate medical care.
“It ended up being OK to fly, but once I landed in Chicago, I went right to the ER,” Stroman said. “They ruled out appendicitis and a gallbladder (issue), they ruled that out. I woke up the next morning and went to get an MRI, and it revealed a fracture in my rib cartilage. I’m still trying to process it honestly.”
For the time being, Stroman has been instructed to do nothing but rest for the next two weeks.
“They told me not to be too active and not do too much right now,” Stroman said. “I talked to a few doctors I know, and they said not to do anything for a few weeks. I can't turn my body too well, and breathing is difficult at some points. I am taking it day-by-day and not looking past tomorrow. I have no answers after that.”
Stroman admitted the health issue was “scary.”
“All the doctors know that I'm going to fully heal and be back," Stroman said. "It's just they don't know if it's going to be three weeks, four weeks, five weeks, six weeks. No one knows the exact time frame. It's good to know that no matter what I'm going to feel, I'm going to make a full recovery no matter what."
Stroman won’t travel with the Cubs when they begin a road trip at the Detroit Tigers on Monday. Stroman has a 3.85 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in 23 starts this season.
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
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