Justin

Steele

Steele noted that he’s finished with his follow-up visits to Dr. Keith Meister who performed the operation and that he has been cleared to start throwing curveballs in his bullpen sessions. The 30-year-old southpaw wants to return by June so that he’s hitting his stride in October. He has found himself going just inside the top 400 picks in recent NFBC drafts, with the expectation that fantasy managers will get nothing from him for the first two months of the season.

Steele has been throwing since October, but this was the first time that he was able to get up on the mound and do so. Barring any setbacks, he remains on track to return at some point during the first half of the 2026 season.

Steele gets only a very slight increase over his $6.55 million salary from 2025 after being limited to four starts last April. He’s due back from Tommy John in the first half of 2026, and he’ll remain under Cubs control in 2027 before becoming a free agent for the first time.

Counsell elaborated that Steele won’t be ready for Opening Day but believes he’ll make it back to Chicago at some point in the first half. The 30-year-old southpaw made just four starts before undergoing season-ending UCL surgery, not a full Tommy John reconstructive procedure, in April. He was able to resume throwing in late October and figures to be ramping up his throwing program by the time spring training rolls around.

Steele, a 2023 All-Star, was limited to just four starts this year before needing his ligament fixed up. He probably won’t be ready for Opening Day, but since it wasn’t a full Tommy John, he should be ready to go at some point during the first half of 2026, maybe even the first couple of months.

Steele will miss the rest of 2025 season after undergoing surgery on his ulnar collateral ligament in April. The left-hander is now off the 40-man roster, and the Cubs used that room to sign Nicky Lopez.

It’s a less invasive procedure than a full Tommy John reconstructive surgery, which would’ve resulted in a longer recovery timeline, but Steele will still miss the remainder of the 2025 campaign. The positive news for fantasy managers is that the 29-year-old fantasy stalwart has a chance to return in the early stages of next season.

The veteran right-hander has now made three starts for Triple-A Iowa, allowing two runs (one earned) on 15 hits in 16 1/3 innings while striking out 12 and walking six. Flexen has struggled the last two seasons in the big leagues, but with Justin Steele being lost for the season due to injury, Flexen could emerge as an option in the Cubs’ rotation in the near future.

It didn’t sound good when news broke that Steele was seeking a second opinion on Friday and now the unfortunate news hits that he’ll go under the knife and miss the rest of the season. It’s unclear if he’ll undergo the traditional Tommy John procedure or the internal brace procedure, so it’s tough to speculate on just how long he’ll be shelved for. It’s a very tough break for fantasy managers in redraft leagues who now need to cut bait with someone who was drafted to be a staple in their starting rotation.

Steele underwent an MRI exam on Thursday that showed more of the same — tendinitis in the same area that sidelined him for a couple of weeks down the stretch during the 2024 season. It sounds like someone is at least concerned that there could be something else at play though. While there’s no reason to hit the panic button just yet, it’s a situation that fantasy managers should continue to monitor.