Cubs News: Pedro Strop will not pitch for the Cubs in 2020 due to injury

An injury means Pedro Strop won’t pitch for the Cubs during the 2020 season.

With less than one week remaining in the abbreviated 2020 regular season, the Chicago Cubs are looking forward to postseason contention. Though this year was unlike any other to come before it, the team found itself reverting back to their old ways and facing issues in all areas including their offense, defense and both starting and relief pitching.

Unfortunately, the team has been plagued with injuries which have been one of the main causes of all of these issues, especially when it comes to the offense and relief pitching.

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Just when the bullpen began to bring their best stuff late in the season, hurdles arose creating more challenges. For starters, Rowan Wick, one of the bullpen’s most consistent and valuable arms fell victim to injury and is out for the rest of the season.

While the team brought pitcher Andrew Chafin up to the bigs in a corresponding move to placing Wick on the injured list, the lefty is just one arm that could help the bullpen push through. Another arm that would have been beneficial at this stage of the season would have been a familiar face, right-handed reliever Pedro Strop, but Strop suffered a hip injury at South Bend and is done for the year.

Strop, 35, once played a very important role in the Cubs bullpen. He anchored the relief corps for the better part of the last decade, from 2013-2019. The right-hander found his way to the North Side via trade with the Baltimore Orioles in 2013. Along with starter Jake Arrieta, Strop came over from the Orioles in exchange for Steve Clevenger and Scott Feldman. Even though he struggled with Baltimore, Strop was very successful with the Cubs. Over his time with the club, Strop pitched a total of 373 innings and posted a 2.90 ERA with 425 strikeouts.

It should be noted that Strop was a fan-favorite apart of the 2016 World Series champion Cubs team. In his three 2016 World Series appearances, he didn’t allow any runs. After the 2019 season, Strop signed with the Cincinnati Reds and spend a portion of the season with them.

However, after his release, the Cubs picked him up on a minor league deal. While Strop might not be the player he used to be, he would have brought a level of veteran experience that would have been beyond beneficial to this 2020 Cubs team.

It’s just too bad that he suffered a hip injury and is likely out for the year. But, the show must go on, and hopefully, the bullpen can keep it together going forward.