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“On a day like this, you feel for Justin,”
manager Craig Counsell said before Sunday’s series finale
against the Los Angeles Dodgers. “It’s kind of the life of a
major league pitcher, these injuries that make you miss most of
seasons.
“But I talked to him this morning, and he has a great attitude
about it, as he always does. He knows that it’s part of the
career he’s chosen, and he’s going to take it a step at a time
and do the best he can to come back even better.”
Steele, 3-1 with a 4.76 ERA in four starts, felt tightness in
his elbow after throwing seven scoreless innings at home against
the Texas Rangers last Monday, discomfort he attributed to the
chilly weather at Wrigley Field.
Two days later, the Cubs placed Steele on the 15-day injured
list. An MRI revealed that Steele was “dealing with the same
injury” as last September, when he missed two starts because of
tendinitis, Counsell said Friday. A visit to a doctor for a
second opinion revealed a more serious injury.
Steele had a 3.10 ERA in 78 starts from 2022-24 and finished
fifth in National League Cy Young Award voting in 2023, when he
went 16-5 with a 3.06 ERA in 30 starts, striking out 176 and
walking 36 in 173 1/3 innings.
Counsell said right-hander Colin Rea, who started against the
Dodgers on Sunday, will fill Steele’s rotation spot for now and
that right-hander Javier Assad, who will begin a minor league
rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday, will be
a candidate to fill Steele’s spot when he returns from a left
oblique strain.
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