Cubs' Marcus Stroman Diagnosed with Fractured Rib Injury; No Return Timetable

The Chicago Cubs are fighting for a playoff spot in the National League, but they will reportedly be without one of their best pitchers for the foreseeable future.

According to Andy Martínez of Watch Marquee, Marcus Stroman suffered a right rib cartilage fracture and does not have a timeline to return. He has not pitched since July 31 and was on the injured list with a hip injury.

Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times noted the right-hander was initially scheduled to come off the IL and start Wednesday's game against the Chicago White Sox, but the rib issue changed those plans.

Instead, Javier Assad will take the mound.

This is quite the blow for the Cubs, who are 3.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central and one game behind the Miami Marlins in the race for the final NL wild-card spot. They can patch together starts with the likes of Assad, Drew Smyly and even Hayden Wesneski, but Stroman leaves quite the hole in the rotation.

He made the second All-Star Game of his career this season and has a 3.85 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 111 strikeouts in 128.2 innings.

Stroman was more effective earlier in the season with a 2.47 ERA through June and looked the part of a Cy Young contender. However, he posted a 9.11 ERA in six July starts before heading to the IL.

Perhaps his hip played a role in the poor performances before the IL stint, but this is an entirely different setback than the one that initially sidelined him.

Chicago is running out of time to make a move in the NL standings and might have to do so without one of their pitching leaders for a significant amount of time.