Stroman prioritizing second half of season, focusing on division race

CHICAGO -- Marcus Stroman has already experienced the All-Star Game. The Cubs pitcher will find out Sunday if a second career nod is in the works, but his focus right now is on putting himself in a position to be fully ready for a potential second-half push for the October stage.

Stroman has acknowledged that using the All-Star break for rest could be to his and the Cubs’ benefit. Late Saturday night, following a tough start within a 6-0 loss to the Guardians at Wrigley Field, Stroman rattled off the names of teammates whom he hopes do make trips to the All-Star Game in Seattle.

“I think Justin Steele’s extremely worthy,” Stroman said. “I think Nico Hoerner’s worthy. I think Dansby Swanson’s worthy. And then probably Adbert Alzolay and [Mark Leiter Jr.] in the bullpen, as well, have been pretty incredible. I would love to see a couple of our guys get it there.”

Four years ago, Stroman made his first All-Star team as a member of the Blue Jays, who turned around and dealt him to the Mets later that month before the Trade Deadline. This season, Stroman has been performing as one of the top arms in the National League, but Chicago’s play over the next few weeks will determine his place on the trade market.

The loss to Cleveland dropped the Cubs’ record to 38-43 on the season, but the North Siders sit just five games back of the NL Central-leading Reds. Chicago’s rotation -- with a 3.95 ERA that ranks second in the NL -- is a big reason why climbing up the standings remains plausible.

“Hopefully we catch fire,” Stroman said. “One win after another, it starts to kind of roll and we have clumps of big winning streaks, because the division is wide open, truly.”

The front office will use the next month to determine whether entertaining offers on Stroman -- who can opt out of his three-year, $71 million deal to test free agency this winter -- should be considered. He has pitched like a front-line ace, giving the Cubs a valuable trade chip if the next month goes south on the ballclub.

“Stroman’s been great,” Cubs manager David Ross said. “He’s been the horse that we identified and went and got and paid. He’s earned every bit of that status of being the No. 1, the Opening Day starter, and a guy who is making a lot of money to go out there and give us a chance to win consistently.”

After exiting his last outing in the London Series in the fourth inning due to a problematic blister on his pitching hand, Stroman looked strong out of the chute on Saturday night. Following a two-hour, 45-minute rain delay, the righty retired the first eight batters he faced in order.

The Guardians then pieced together a swift two-out, two-run rally in the third, which began with a walk to Bo Naylor. Stroman worked into the sixth, but Cleveland churned out three hits, bringing in a run and ending the pitcher’s evening. At that juncture, the Cubs were in a 3-0 hole.

“It happened kind of quick,” Cubs catcher Tucker Barnhart said. “Like I told him: I wouldn’t change anything in terms of how we attacked them. I thought we attacked them the way we wanted to. He made great pitches.”

Stroman leaned against the bat rack in the Cubs’ dugout and watched the rest of the sixth inning unfold. Two more runs were added to his line after reliever Julian Merryweather allowed a pair of run-scoring hits.

When the smoke cleared, Stroman was charged with five runs in 5 2/3 frames, pushing his ERA up to 2.76 on the season. That is still good enough for fourth in the National League and eighth among qualified MLB pitchers. Steele currently paces the Majors with a 2.43 ERA.

Stroman leads MLB in quality starts (14), ranks second in ground-ball rate (59.7%), checks in at third in innings (107 2/3) and home runs per nine innings (0.42), and fourth in opponents’ batting average (.204), among qualified pitchers.

That should all add up to a second All-Star selection, though Stroman is still weighing how he will approach the season’s intermission.

“That break is huge,” Stroman said. “I know I’ll be able to put myself in a great position going into this second half with that break. And I’m someone who’s always prided myself on second halves. So yeah, I think that break is crucial for the body.”