Steele's return could reshape the Cubs' pitching plans. Discover if a six-man rotation benefits the entire staff and aids their World Series aspirations.
The Chicago Cubs' rotation is set to begin the 2026 season.
Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, and Edward Cabrera will be the rotation the Cubs roll out to start the year. Those five pitchers collectively give the North Siders a solid pitching group entering the regular season.
Boyd will lead this group after being named the Opening Day starter last week. He will officially start the first game of the season against the Washington Nationals on Thursday. After that, Horton and Imanaga could follow.
But what happens to this rotation once Justin Steele returns?
Steele is expected to miss the first few months of the season as he works his way back from elbow surgery. Considering the left-hander has been fully cleared by Dr. Keith Meister, a late May/early June return is when the Cubs could expect him back.
His return could lead to Chicago testing a six-man rotation when all six pitchers are healthy. Running out a six-man rotation makes a lot of sense for a team with World Series aspirations. A lot of pitchers in the Cubs’ rotation would also benefit from it.
With Steele only throwing 22 ⅔ innings last year, the Cubs will be monitoring his innings in his first year back from elbow surgery. Pitching every seven or eight days could be beneficial for his workload in 2026.
Then, there are both Horton and Cabrera. The team will likely be watching their innings closely throughout the season. Neither will enter the year with an innings limit, but the Cubs probably don’t want both pitchers to throw 170+ innings in the regular season.
Last season was the first time that Horton had thrown more than 100 innings in his pitching career. Before his 147 combined innings pitched in 2025, the right-hander only threw 34 ⅓ innings in 2024 and 88 ⅓ innings in 2023.
Last year was also the first time Cabrera had thrown more than 100 innings in his Major League career. With injuries at the forefront of his professional career so far, the Cubs aren’t going to lean on the right-hander to be a workhorse on the mound.
The extra time between starts could be extremely helpful for two up-and-coming young pitchers.
Veterans like Boyd could use the extra time off between starts as well. His 179 ⅔ innings pitched last year were his most in a season since 2019. That heavy workload led him to gas out toward the end of the year, as he had a 5.16 ERA over his final 11 regular season starts.
So, expect the Cubs to test out a six-man rotation once Steele returns. It could help every pitcher in the rotation, especially since the team is hoping to make a deep postseason run this year.