A player saying he’ll be available for a particular game after an injury is one thing, that player *actually* appearing in the game is quite another.
That is to say, I personally am still thinking about Pedro Strop’s hamstring keeping him out until Thursday. Strop has other ideas:
Pedro Strop just told me that he'll be ready to go tomorrow. https://t.co/HNJmZSGrEM
— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) October 1, 2018
Joe Maddon wouldn’t confirm it after the game, so certainly nothing is decided. I’m sure coming into today, the Cubs were hoping they wouldn’t even have to think about tomorrow.
But with it being win or go home, I’m sure Strop will be pushing hard to be included on the Wild Card Game roster. The nice thing is, since it’s just a one-game roster, the Cubs have the flexibility to include an extra reliever or two (and an extra bench guy or two), since you don’t have to carry all the starting pitchers.
If Strop is on the roster tomorrow, I’d give it a 50-50 shot he winds up appearing in the game. Of course, maybe the Cubs blow the Rockies/Dodgers (looking like it’ll be the Rockies) out and Strop gets to rest a couple more days regardless.