Justin Steele faces live hitters, a major milestone in his return. Get ready for this ace's comeback to the Cubs' dangerous rotation.
Getting Justin Steele back is a massive boost for the Chicago Cubs rotation.
He has been one of the most consistent pitchers on the team since making his Major League debut in 2021. Steele has finished with a sub-3.20 ERA in each of his three full seasons in the big leagues.
In 2022, the southpaw finished with a 3.18 ERA and 126 strikeouts across 24 starts. In 2023, Steele had a 3.06 ERA and 176 strikeouts across 30 starts en route to finishing fifth in the National League Cy Young voting. Then, in 2024, he posted a 3.07 ERA and a career-best 1.099 WHIP over 134 ⅔ innings.
When Steele has been healthy, he has been a top-of-the-line starter for the Cubs. His 3.18 ERA since the start of the 2022 season is the 10th-lowest among all pitchers with at least 400 innings pitched during this span.
That’s just how good Steele has been in his Major League career. Adding a sub-3.20 ERA pitcher back into the rotation makes this Cubs pitching group much more dangerous than a season ago.
Now, Steele will not be ready for Opening Day as he makes his way back from elbow surgery. The expectation is that he will miss the first few weeks of the 2026 season and could return sometime in May/June.
However, it’s clear that the southpaw is making significant progress in his recovery. He has already been fully cleared by Dr. Keith Meister and will begin to ramp up over the next few weeks.
One of the biggest steps forward in Steele's recovery actually happened on Friday. The 30-year-old faced live hitters for the first time since his last start against the Texas Rangers on April 7, 2025. That was almost one full year ago.
Steele, though, looked sharp in his live bullpen from clips shown by Marquee Sports Network. He got an awkward swing from Michael Busch in his at-bat and got out of that bullpen session fully healthy.
The left-hander will continue to build up over the next few weeks before potentially appearing on a rehab assignment sometime next month. Steele will no doubt start the season on the injured list, but a return in late May or early June is certainly possible.
His arrival will give the North Siders another strong arm in their rotation. Fans are just a few months away from seeing the former All-Star back on the mound in a Cubs uniform.