Full house.

At long last, after a knee injury, a knee surgery, and a groin-related setback, Chicago Cubs setup man Pedro Strop is officially active once again, coming off of a DL stint that had him out since August 10. Assuming he stays healthy, that means the Cubs will once again be able to employ the Strop-Rondon-Chapman trio at the end of games – something they only barely got a taste of before Strop and Hector Rondon were injured in early August.

The rough plan has been to get him back into action this weekend – perhaps as soon as today, if possible – and then a few more times before the playoffs begin. That will not only allow the Cubs to evaluate where he’s at physically, but also where he stands in terms of his ability to be right back there in the highest of leverage moments (in the highest of leverage games in October).

It will also, of course, give Strop and opportunity to get back into the rhythm of things. If he looks a little rusty in the first outing, try not to freak out. That’s often how these things go, and, for him, this is a kind of Spring Training.

Strop, 31, returns to a 2.89 ERA, a 2.85 FIP, and a 2.59 xFIP over 43.2 innings.