Chicago Cubs ace Justin Steele will undergo season-ending surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his left elbow, dealing a significant blow to the team’s rotation.
It was unclear whether Steele, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2017, will need another full ligament-replacement procedure or a Tommy John revision with an internal brace. The 29-year-old left-hander will be sidelined until 2026.
“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.”
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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.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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