Pedro Strop says he will be ready for the postseason, but there’s a caveat.
The Chicago Cubs reliever has been out since Sept. 13 with a hamstring injury and has been trying to work his way back. He told reporters on Saturday that he will be ready for the playoffs on Thursday.
#Cubs Strop says he'll be ready for postseason on Thursday. "Don't talk to me about Tuesday "
— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) September 29, 2018
Though that’s nice for Cubs fans to hear, it’s not the end of the story.
The Cubs are not guaranteed to reach Thursday. They could end up in the NL wild-card game, which would be played on Tuesday, two days before the NLDS gets underway. That’s a do-or-die game, so if the Cubs end up in it and don’t win, their season would be over. You can understand why Strop doesn’t want to think about that scenario, but it’s something to wonder about.
Strop is 6-1 with 13 saves and a 2.26 ERA this season. He took over as closer after Brandon Morrow got hurt. Steve Cishek and Jesse Chavez have gotten saves while Strop has been out.
