Chicago Cubs Activate Marcus Stroman From Injured List

With about two weeks left in the regular season, the Chicago Cubs are in the middle of tightly contested National League playoff race.

Entering Friday, they're one-and-a-half games back from the top Wild Card spot and sit two-and-a-half games up on three teams tied for the final spot.

The Cubs just got a major reinforcement back for this stretch as well.

Chicago's social media page officially announced that they have activated starting pitcher Marcus Stroman off the injured list and are bringing him to the active roster.

The right hander started off this year as the ace of their rotation. He was one of the best pitchers in the league at the beginning of the season, posting an ERA of 2.47 through the month of June.

July is where things went sideways for Stroman. His ERA ballooned to 9.11 during the month with a record of 1-3.

This prompted the Cubs to put him on the injured list with right hip inflammation. Things went from bad to worse when Stroman fractured his rib cartilage as he was attempting his return.

The only bright spot coming from the 32-year-old's stint on the IL was that Chicago learned their rookie pitchers Javier Assad and Jordan Wicks are solid starters.

Solid might be putting it lightly.

Wicks has an ERA of 1.99 through four starts and Assad has a 3.13 ERA since returning to the starting rotation.

The Cubs already have Justin Steele leading the way, who is the NL Cy Young frontrunner.

With Stroman back in the mix, this rotation has been taken to the next level.

There were some rumors that he could be used out of the bullpen when he returns to the mound. The last time he pitched was July 31 and he's primarily done bullpen work for his recovery.

Regardless of what his role will be, getting Stroman back into the mix before the playoffs is a huge boost for this Chicago team, as they close out the final month of the year.