Justin

Steele

Since the Cubs ended up losing the game, the NL Central was officially clinched by the Brewers. This was expected to be a short-ish outing, but Steele needed 57 pitches to get his eight outs, leading to an especially early exit. He allowed two hits, walked three and struck out one. Assuming that his elbow bounces back fine, he’ll likely start again versus the Phillies next Monday.

Steele is off the injured list and will make the start against the Athletics on Wednesday. The left-hander missed the minimum stint on the IL while recovering from elbow tendinitis. He seems like a worthwhile option for Wednesday’s start against Oakland.

The first 25 pitches were solo action, and then hitters stood in for the final 15 offerings. Steele told reporters it was a “good day,” and that’s always nice to hear. The left-hander is working his way back from tendinitis in his pitching elbow, and it remains to be seen if he can return before the end of the 2024 campaign.

It’s the first time he’s been able to throw off the mound since being placed on the IL with left elbow tendinitis exactly one week ago. The 29-year-old will likely need to complete a few bullpen sessions and perhaps a simulated game — a rehab start may be difficult with the MiLB season coming to an end soon — but if things go well, Steele could return before 2024 comes to a close.

Steele was unable to make his start Tuesday because of inflammation in his elbow, and now has been diagnosed with the tendinitis. Kyle Hendricks made the start for Steele on Tuesday and pitched well, and likely will continue to make starts until Steele can come back. There’s no timetable for Steele’s return, but the IL stint will cause him to miss at least two weeks.

Steele has been diagnosed with elbow inflammation and is day-to-day for now while he continues to undergo further testing and evaluation. It’s an extremely encouraging update, especially from a long-term standpoint, but it’s going to be extremely difficult for him to make it back this season unless he resumes throwing in the coming days. The 29-year-old southpaw figures to land on the injured list at some point in the coming days after being scratched from Tuesday’s start due to left elbow soreness. There should be some additional clarity on his status in the coming days.

That’s not good at all. Kyle Hendricks, who was jumped dropped from the rotation to make room for Jordan Wicks, will regain his spot for now and face the Pirates on Tuesday. If Steele can’t make it back this month, the Cubs might decide to take a look at Caleb Kilian during the final few weeks.

Steele ran into trouble in the first inning of this one. After allowing back-to-back singles to start the frame, Steele would retire Nick Gonzales on a ground ball, but a sacrifice fly by Oneil Cruz on the following at-bat gave the Pirates an early 1-0 lead. Steele would then walk Connor Joe to put runners on the corners, which followed with an RBI double by Bryan de La Cruz. He would escape the inning with just the two earned runs and settled in to pitch four scoreless frames before being pulled after the fifth inning. Steele has allowed two earned runs or less in his last five outings and is boasting a 2.03 ERA on the month. He’ll look to keep things going in his next start, which will be a rematch with the Pirates on Monday.

Steele’s only blemish in terms of preventing runs was a two-run homer by Spencer Torkelson. Sans that, the southpaw was outstanding while reaching double digits in punchouts and allowing just four hits without issuing a walk. Steele has allowed just those two runs in his last three starts — that’s a little ‘misleading’ because of a rain-shortened start Saturday — and his ERA is now a very healthy 3.07. He’s scheduled to face the Pirates on Tuesday.

Steele was off to an excellent start against the Blue Jays, striking out three batters with just one baserunner allowed over two innings. But two rain delays would cut his outing short, ending his day after the two frames. The 29-year-old left-hander has posted a 3.10 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and a 115/32 K/BB ratio across 116 innings. He’s currently lined up for a start against the Marlins in Miami on Friday.