Justin Steele (elbow) starts throwing progression

Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters Steele will have at least one additional rehab outing for Triple-A Iowa next week before the club makes a decision on his status. The 31-year-old figures to pitch in relief for the Cubs since he won’t be built up enough from a workload standpoint to operate as a traditional starter.

It seems both the Cubs and Steele came to the conclusion that he won’t get built up enough to help as a starter in the postseason, so he is attempting to come back as a relief weapon. His four-seamer was sitting at 89.3 mph, so that’s not ideal. We’ll see if he can make it back before the end of the season.

Steele looked sharp from a velocity standpoint during his 36-pitch rehab debut earlier this week. The 31-year-old southpaw is likely ticketed for a multi-inning relief role, if he makes it back to Chicago before the postseason. He’s unlikely to make any sort of fantasy impact, but it’s worth noting that he should have a relatively normal offseason and return to the Cubs’ rotation next spring.

Chicago has left the door open for Steele to return, most likely as a reliever, at some point before the regular season concludes. The 31-year-old southpaw averaged his usual 90.3 mph on his four-seam fastball during the 36-pitch outing. He’s coming off elbow surgery and hasn’t pitched in the majors since the 2025 season. He’ll need a couple additional rehab outings before he’s a realistic option for the Cubs.

Steele is attempting to make it back to Chicago as a reliever for the postseason after suffering a flexor strain a couple months ago that delayed his return from last year’s elbow surgery. The 31-year-old lefty can be ignored in fantasy leagues, but his return should provide a lift for the Cubs in the postseason. He’s going to need at least a week or two of rehab appearances before he’s an option for Chicago’s bullpen.

Steele underwent elbow surgery in April of 2025 and then dealt with a flexor strain earlier this season, which is why he still has not pitched this season. The left-hander has begun facing hitters this week, which means it’s highly unlikely that he will return as a starter. Cubs manager Craig Counsell even said, “We’re not going to skip steps. He rightfully should be (focused on returning this season), but we have a lot of steps to go before we get there.” There likely won’t be much fantasy value with Steele this season, but his pitching in relief would be beneficial for the Cubs and be nice for fantasy managers to see before 2027 drafts.

Steele is expected to pitch in relief once he makes it back to Chicago at some point in the final month of the season. The 31-year-old former top-of-the-rotation southpaw suffered a flexor strain earlier this season while working his way back from last year’s Tommy John surgery. He’ll need to get through at least one additional live batting practice session before heading out on a rehab assignment.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell reaffirmed that Steele will return as a reliever given the lack of time remaining on the calendar to sufficiently ramp up as a traditional starter. The 30-year-old was given clearance to progress to throwing off a bullpen mound in early August as he continues working his way back from a flexor strain that he suffered in April while rehabbing from last year’s Tommy John surgery. He has a chance to make it back to Chicago as a reliever in time for their September playoff push.

Levine mentions that Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Steele could “help in the pen at some late summer point.” Steele is working back from elbow surgery and a setback he suffered earlier in May, so the team is clearly being cautious with him. While he may pitch innings for the Cubs later this summer, it no longer seems like he needs to be stashed in redraft fantasy leagues.

While Cubs manager Counsell termed this as “good news,” it doesn’t sound like Steele has made much progress from April, when it was believed he would be out until after the All-Star break. At this point, his timeline might be closer to August. Fantasy managers in redraft leagues certainly don’t need to keep holding him at this rate.