Cubs' Justin Steele: Shifts to 60-day injured list
Rotowire
The Cubs transferred Steele (elbow) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Wednesday, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.
Steele underwent UCL surgery last week and will be sidelined for the remainder of the 2025 season, so the move won't affect his timeline for a return. The transaction will instead open up a spot on the 40-man roster for lefty reliever Drew Pomeranz, whose contract was selected in a corresponding move.
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Cubs' Justin Steele: Undergoes UCL surgery Friday
Rotowire
Steele underwent UCL revision repair operation on his left elbow Friday, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports.
Steele was placed on the 15-day injured list April 9 with what was initially diagnosed as left elbow tendinitis, but further tests revealed significant UCL damage that required season-ending surgery. He was able to avoid Tommy John surgery, but he will sit for the rest of 2025 and will likely miss the early portion of the 2026 regular season. With Steele sidelined, Ben Brown and Colin Rea will continue to serve in the Cubs' rotation, though one of them will be bumped when Javier Assad (oblique) returns from the IL.
Cubs' Justin Steele: Set for season-ending surgery
Rotowire
Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Sunday that Steele will undergo season-ending surgery to repair his flexor tendon and address UCL damage in his left elbow, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reports.
Counsell didn't go into specifics regarding the extent of the UCL damage, but if Steele requires a Tommy John surgery or internal brace procedure, his availability for the start of the 2026 season would also be affected. Steele was initially hopeful for a minimum-length stay on the 15-day injured list after he was deactivated Wednesday due to what the Cubs termed as left elbow tendinitis, but a more significant injury was detected after he received two medical opinions on his arm. With Steele now done for the rest of the 2025 season, the Cubs should have permanent spots in the rotation available for both Ben Brown and Colin Rea, at least until Javier Assad (oblique) is back from the IL.
Manager Craig Counsell said Friday that Steele will get a second opinion on his left elbow, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com reports.
Steele has now dealt with tendinitis in his left elbow in back-to-back seasons, and Counsell said the team wants to determine if his recent problems are the result of a larger issue, per Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network. The 29-year-old southpaw recently said he only expects to be on the injured list for the minimum 15 days, though that may change based on the results of his upcoming doctor's visit.
Steele (elbow) believes he will require only a minimum 15-day stay on the injured list, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.
Steele felt discomfort in his left elbow during the middle of Monday's start against the Rangers, but he remained in the game and threw a couple more scoreless innings, finishing the night with eight strikeouts over seven scoreless frames. However, he felt sore Tuesday and was placed on the IL on Wednesday with what the Cubs are calling left elbow tendinitis. Steele was on the IL last September with the same injury and missed three weeks of action that time. While it's encouraging that Steele believes he will make a quick return, the Cubs will have the ultimate say, and it's too soon to know how much time the southpaw will ultimately miss.
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Cubs' Justin Steele: Goes on IL with elbow tendinitis
Rotowire
The Cubs placed Steele on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with left elbow tendinitis, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Steele didn't show any indication of being hurt in his last outing, striking out eight over seven scoreless innings against the Rangers on Monday. However, he will now been shelved for at least next next couple weeks. Steele missed three weeks of action last September with the same injury, which is a bit worrisome. Colin Rea is an option to take Steele's spot in the rotation.
Steele (3-1) picked up the win Monday against the Rangers after giving up three hits and two walks in seven scoreless innings, striking out eight.
Steele looked to be right at home on a cold night at Wrigley Field, scattering three singles with the benefit of having the wind blowing in Monday. It was easily the star left-hander's finest performance of the campaign thus far, as he allowed a season low in knocks and fanned a season-high eight during his longest outing among four starts. Steele has a strong 21:5 K:BB and 1.15 WHIP to go with three wins over his first 22.2 frames, but he'll be looking to improve on his subpar 4.76 ERA in a tough road matchup against the Dodgers that lines up for this weekend.
Steele (2-1) collected the win Tuesday in a 7-4 victory over the A's, giving up four runs on seven hits and a walk over 6.2 innings. He struck out six.
The southpaw served up two-run homers to Brent Rooker in the first inning and Shea Langeliers in the third, but the Cubs' offense bailed him out with a couple long balls of its own. Steele has been taken deep five times in his first three starts of 2025, a somewhat worrying trend for a pitcher who's never had serious issues keeping the ball in the park before -- over the prior three seasons, he never posted a HR/9 rate north of 0.80 -- but the sample size is still small. Steele will look for his third straight win in his next outing, which lines up to come at home early next week against the Rangers.
Steele (1-1) earned the win Thursday in Arizona after allowing three runs on six hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out two.
The left-hander pounded the zone and threw 55 of 77 pitches for strikes, but he generated just four whiffs as Arizona tagged him for three extra-base hits. Steele was able to limit the damage well enough, but he's now surrendered three homers through his first two starts of the season after serving up two long balls in Tokyo against the Dodgers. A more favorable matchup with the Athletics is on the docket next week.
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