Justin Steele Timeline Updated - Still Not Throwing

[Brian Kelder]

According to this article from The Athletic's Sahadev Sharma, Justin Steele is progressing from his elbow setback. While the veteran lefty is not throwing as of yet, he is progressing to some strengthening exercises. There is no timeline as of yet for his eventual return to throwing and a rehab assignment.

The updated timeline puts any 2026 return for Steele in jeopardy. In a best-case scenario, he starts throwing again in June, with a lengthy ramp-up. This would potentially allow him to pitch in August, given no setbacks. Another flare-up of the elbow would end his season.

Basically, the Cubs can't count on Steele to carry them down the stretch, which, given the state of the current rotation, would help the team a lot. Edward Cabrera is currently sidelined with blisters and has a checkered injury history. Matthew Boyd is no spring chicken either and has only pitched over 100 innings once this decade. Arms are always needed in a season, and the Cubs are no exception.

Despite consternation about the Cubs' hitting, the rotation is the area with the lowest floor on the roster. Justin Steele will continue his own path to health. The Cubs need to hope this path leads to the mound in 2026. 

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[javy knows my name]

Well consider me clickbaited

[Soul]

[Windrider]

Doubt we see Steele this season.  Looks like a sell off is coming.  Can't mortgage what's left of the farm system on this season.  Sell Happ, Kelly, Suzuki, Boyd, Thielbar.  Find a way to unload Swanson and his boat anchor contract.  We have Rojas,  Ramirez and Shaw.. Swanson isn't really that elite at short stop anymore.  Pray the Dodgers take an injury at short stop and make a trade.  Eat 65% of his contract and get him out of Chicago. 

[Brian Kelder]

On 6/7/2026 at 8:29 AM, Windrider said:

Doubt we see Steele this season.  Looks like a sell off is coming.  Can't mortgage what's left of the farm system on this season.  Sell Happ, Kelly, Suzuki, Boyd, Thielbar.  Find a way to unload Swanson and his boat anchor contract.  We have Rojas,  Ramirez and Shaw.. Swanson isn't really that elite at short stop anymore.  Pray the Dodgers take an injury at short stop and make a trade.  Eat 65% of his contract and get him out of Chicago. 

Go ahead and read my Dark Timeline article!

[The_Achiever]

Happ is playing like a guy who wants a new contract.  He can't be traded so maybe they should just sign him?  

I agree it's time for a fire sale; maybe they can talk Happ into agreeing to go to a contender in the last year of his deal.  

[Guest]

Having Steele around was a lot of fun while it lasted.  he was a favorite of mine for sure.

Hope he comes back for us one day and can be who he was.  

[KCCub]

 

 

[Derwood]

Sounds about right

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

They probably could have squeezed 4 or 5 starts out of him but yeah, probably not worth it at this point.

[chibears55]

Good. 

Hope they just set an X amount of pitches or innings for him, then just shut him down the rest of season. 

Have him go through his normal offseason routine and be ready for whenever ST starts up.

He'll be more important for next season rotation then whatever he can give this season. 

[Bertz]

That seems...surprising.  Like even with the setbacks something akin to what Matt Boyd did two years ago with Cleveland or what Shane Bieber did last year with Toronto feels like it should be on the table?  So I guess I'm wondering which of these rationales is at play:

1. Steele's arm is still not responding like it should.  We're not quite in "setback" territory yet but rehab is not going great 

2. The team doesn't trust him to produce right off the IL.  I listed off two counterexamples but generally guys are rusty off of TJ and August/September might not be the best time to let him work through rust

3. The team is desperate for quality innings, and they'd rather e.g. get him back in early August as a reliever than wait for late August as a SP.

[Cubs420psd]

Fire every single person on this medical staff yesterday. 

 

This is outrageous. 

[Jason Ross]

Yeesh. That's a real bummer.

[CubinNY]

1 hour ago, Cubs420psd said:

Fire every single person on this medical staff yesterday. 

 

This is outrageous. 

The medical staff is not responsible for his elbow tendons looking like spaghetti. 

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

1 hour ago, Cubs420psd said:

Fire every single person on this medical staff yesterday. 

 

This is outrageous. 

What a sane reaction 

[Irrelevant Dude]

I realize every case is different, but does anyone truly expect Cade Horton to contribute in any form next year?

I think we're getting a glimpse of the future here.  We'll be lucky if we just get Horton making some relief appearances toward the end of the 2027 season.

[Soul]

9 minutes ago, Tangled Up in Plaid said:

What a sane reaction 

But an understandable, if not entirely sane, reaction from a fan standpoint.  To call the Cubs a MASH unit would be an understatement.  Is there a point where it’s no longer just random?  I don’t know.  But man it’s so horsefeathers frustrating.

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

4 minutes ago, Soul said:

But an understandable, if not entirely sane, reaction from a fan standpoint.  To call the Cubs a MASH unit would be an understatement.  Is there a point where it’s no longer just random?  I don’t know.  But man it’s so horsefeathers frustrating.

https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/injured/_/year/2026

Once again, 29 other teams exist and this is not a unique problem 

[javy knows my name]

This update is a lot like the OP's update in that it's not a fuckin update