Stroman has rib cartilage fracture; season in air

CHICAGO -- Cubs right-hander Marcus Stroman will be out indefinitely after an MRI revealed a cartilage fracture in his right rib, the team announced Wednesday.

Stroman, 32, had been scheduled to come off the injured list to pitch on Wednesday against the White Sox, but he experienced discomfort in his ribs following a bullpen session in Toronto on Sunday. Stroman, who was already nursing a sore hip when the fracture occurred, underwent an MRI on Monday.

"It's an unusual injury for a pitcher," said Jed Hoyer, the Cubs' president of baseball operations. "We found out on Sunday he was having some issues. We didn't know if it was muscular, we didn't know if it was skeletal. We didn't know if it was indigestion. We didn't know what it was."

Stroman hasn't pitched since going on the injured list after his start on July 31. He gave up six runs in three innings in that outing, capping a rough month after a solid start to his season. He posted a 9.11 ERA in July after compiling a 2.59 mark over the first three months of the season.

"We have to wait and see," manager David Ross said. "I know he'll try to work his way back and help us out."

In Stroman's place, righty Javier Assad will get the bulk of the starts. Assad pitched well in a win over the Blue Jays on Friday, throwing a season-high 90 pitches over seven innings. He has started 11 games in his two-year big league career, making a name for himself for Team Mexico during this year's World Baseball Classic.

Assad has a 3.12 ERA in 21 games this season, with most of the appearances coming in relief.

"Assad has been fantastic for us in all these different roles," Hoyer said. "Hopefully someone else will step up during this period."

Hoyer was asked if Stroman could miss the rest of the season.

"I have no idea," he said. "That's the honest truth. We don't know at this point. We'll give him a real rest period and see how he feels."

Chicago is already navigating around another struggling pitcher, Drew Smyly, though he's likely to return to the rotation after being sent to the bullpen recently. Assad joins him, Kyle Hendricks, Jameson Taillon and Cy Young candidate, Justin Steele, to round out the team's rotation right now.

The Cubs are in the wild card and division race in the NL after a win streak just before the trade deadline allowed the team to add instead of subtract from their roster. But their starting staff has been up-and-down lately, contributing to a 4.84 team ERA since the all-star break. That's good for just 10th in the NL entering play on Wednesday. Now they'll be without a veteran starter for the near future.

"We'll move forward with the guys we have now," Hoyer said. "Hopefully we'll keep playing well."