The Cubs gave the lefty an update Justin Steele this week, as reported by Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic. The southpaw has been allowed to progress to strengthening and plyo balls but is still weeks away from throwing a baseball.
Steele underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament in his elbow in April of last year. He was throwing in January of 2026 and was expected to return early this season. That didn’t happen. He returned in late April when he suffered a flexor strain, and the manager Craig Counsell they said at the time that they no longer expected Steele to return before the All-Star break.
Counsel tried to frame this week’s update as positive, in the sense that Steele will now begin to move forward with some general recovery steps. However, it sounds like his timeline has been thrown yet again. According to Sharma, in the best case scenario, Steele will start throwing again in mid-June. After being strengthened for a while, he could go out on a rehab assignment in July and maybe come back in August. Another setback will begin to put his season in jeopardy.
“We’re hoping to get him back,” baseball president Jed Hoyer said this week. “Obviously there comes a time when you run out of days, but I don’t think it’s there yet. I know Justin wants to come back more than anything.”
An annoying situation for Steele and the team. The lefty was a solid member of the rotation from 2022 to 2024, posting a 3.10 earned run average in 78 starts. He only managed to make four appearances in 2025 before getting injured. Whether he can make the fourth start this year is up in the air. Even if he can beat that number, it won’t be much.
For the past few months, the Cubs have been dreaming of a situation where their core included Steele, Late Horton, Edward Cabrera again Matthew Boyd this summer. Instead, all four are in IL. Horton needed Tommy John surgery in April and was done for a year. Boyd had meniscus surgery in May and is still on the mend. Cabrera hit the shelf last week because of the bubble.
That left the Cubs with a starting lineup Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, Colin Rea, Ben Brown again Jordan Wicks. Brown is running with a chance, with a 2.01 ERA on the year. Imanaga and Rea posted accessible numbers. Taillon has a 5.37 ERA thanks to a spike in home runs. Wicks was recently called up to the minors and his first start of the year did not go well, as he allowed eight earned runs in 4 1/3 innings.
It is clear that there is a huge gap between the way the Cubs draw and the way they play. There is good news in the short term. Sharma relays that Cabrera is expected to return after a short period of time, so he could be back in a week. Boyd’s plan is to have two rehab tests, the first of which is scheduled for Sunday, so he can return in a few weeks. If everyone stays healthy, the return of Cabrera and Boyd could bring the Wicks back to the minors and someone else in the fold.
That news is encouraging but also comes with stars. Cabrera has dealt with blisters throughout his career, earning IL in 2021 and 2025. He is very injury prone, having pitched 100 innings in a season just once in his career. Boyd also has a career track record, with just one season over 80 innings in the decade.
Even if that group remains stable over the next few months, it seems fair to expect the Cubs to want more starting pitching this summer. Steele’s status may become clearer as the August 3 deadline approaches but it will likely be difficult to count on him running to save the day, based on how things played out this year.
Photo courtesy of Ed Szczepanski, Imagn Images
