It was painfully obvious that something was wrong with Marcus Stroman and now he’s going to be out for a couple weeks. The Chicago Cubs announced that Stroman has been placed on the 15-day injured list with hip inflammation.

Stroman started on Monday, when the Cubs opened up a big series against the first-place Cincinnati Reds. The veteran righty was hit hard and was taken out after giving up six earned runs in three innings. That was the third consecutive start in which Stroman was not able to get past four innings.

Since leaving the London start on June 25, with a blister issue Stroman’s ERA increased from 2.47 to 3.85, allowing 27 earned runs in 26.2 innings during six starts in July.

The Cubs have added newly acquired reliever José Cuas to the 26-man roster with Stroman on the injured list.

Stroman spoke to reports on Wednesday and said he did receive a cortisone shot in his ailing hip.

So, yeah scratch the whole “fake injury” thing. No player is just getting a cortisone shot for nothing. As is the case, players are almost always going to play through injury, so it’s frustrating that Stroman has known about the hip issue, but you obviously understand the competitive nature of pro athletes that want to stay in no matter what.

The hip issue led to Stroman tweaking things on the mound and unfortunately bad results followed.

Following the Red series, the Cubs have a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves and then go out East to play three games apiece against the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays. If Stroman does miss the minimum amount of time on the injured list, then he may be back against the White Sox at Wrigley Field on Aug. 16.

José Cuas

Cubs fans thought they were going to see a little more movement ahead of the trade deadline on Tuesday, but ultimately the team did not make any other major additions after trading for Jeimer Candelario on Monday. The only other substantial deal was with the Kansas City Royals, as the Cubs dealt right-handed hitting outfielder Nelson Velázquez in exchange for right-handed pitcher José Cuas.

The 29-year-old is now in the Cubs bullpen and he certainly has a unique journey to the majors. He made his MLB debut with the Royals in 2022 and now he’s joining a team looking to make a run at a playoff spot. Well, it’s not going from a last place team to a potential playoff team that makes Cuas’ story interesting, it’s the fact that a few years ago he was delivering packages for FedEx.

The right-hander posted a 4.08 ERA in 92 appearances with the Royals in the past two seasons. Not bad for a guy who only started to pitch in 2018, three years after he was drafted as an infielder by the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Royals picked up Cuas in 2021 and the righty was outstanding in the minors, recording a 1.51 ERA in 41.2 innings rookie ball, Double-A and Triple-A. He kept it going in 2022, posting a 1.61 ERA in 22.1 innings at Triple-A, earning him his first promotion to the major leagues.

Cuas had a 3.58 ERA in 37.2 innings during his rookie season in the majors with the Royals.

The 29-year-old still has two more years of pre-arbitration, so expect the Cubs to hold on to him for a while.