Pedro Strop has been ruled out for the rest of the regular season after an MRI revealed a hamstring strain that he suffered during Thursday's 4-3 Cubs win over the Nationals.
Strop strained his hamstring running down the first base line in the 10th inning, as Joe Maddon left him in with the bases loaded, so that he could get the final three outs in the bottom half.
Maybe one of the most underrated players in franchise history, Strop stepped up big time this year after closer Brandon Morrow went down with a biceps injury in July. Now, with Strop done someone else will have to carry the torch in the Cubs' bullpen that has been shaky during the past few weeks.
Strop will be checked out again in October, so I guess there's still a slim chance he could return in the playoffs.
The Cubs currently have the best record in the National League, but have seen their division lead go down to 1.5, with 16 games left on the schedule. So, expect to see more of Justin Wilson and Jesse Chavez, while Steve Cishek and Carl Edwards Jr. will try to get back on track. The Cubs will have Brandon Morrow back maybe as soon as next week, but he'll return in a limited role. Maddon has already said that Morrow won't be able to pitch on consecutive days. Morrow won't be put back in the closer's role. He last pitched on July 15.
Strop will finish with his sixth straight season having a sub-3.00 ERA for the Cubs. In 60 games this year, Strop recorded a 2.26 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 57 strikeouts in 59.2 innings.
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