Chicago Cubs: Jed Hoyer offers sobering Justin Steele update

The Chicago Cubs can’t seem to catch a break this season when it comes to their stressed and strained pitching staff.

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Of last season’s pitching heroes, Cade Horton has been lost for this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, while Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, and closer Daniel Palencia currently sit on the IL. Over the course of the season, Cubs has been decimated by several other injuries as well, including issues with Phil Maton, Caleb Thielbar, Riley Martin, Ethan Roberts, and Hunter Harvey.

And now to the team’s misfortunes, you can add today’s sobering and disappointing update regarding former ace Justin Steele.

The lefty starter was due back this season from elbow surgery he underwent in April of last year, initially with a May-June target date in mind. However, he suffered a flexor strain while rehabbing that once again shut him down and pushed back his return to the more nebulous “sometime this season.”

Hoyer talks realistic expectations

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In a Tuesday interview on 104.3 The Score, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer laid it all on the table when it comes to Steele’s comeback, describing his situation as “still unclear.”

“It’s probably unrealistic to think he’s going to be fully stretched out at any point,” Hoyer said. “If he does help us, I think it’s going to be in shorter bursts.”

As the exec continued talking, though, it became pretty clear that the team is now primarily focused on next season when it comes to the soon-to-be 31-year-old.

“In looking at Justin’s career and, obviously, looking at next year, we want the really good version of Justin Steele,” Hoyer added. “I think that’s a void we feel as a team and it’s been a long time since we’ve had him on the mound, so, any positive news is great, but I think expecting starts this year is unrealistic. We have to hope that he can, potentially, come back at the end of the year and help us and [with] improved health headed into the offseason so that we know we’ve got a really good pitcher for next year.”

The importance of having Steele back

Steele has a 3.30 ERA over his 5-year run with Chicago and has been the team’s most consistently effective starter since he became a full-time rotation piece. In the three years from 2022 through 2024, he was also one of the top starters in all of major league baseball.

Of course, having him back on the mound every fifth day is a big deal. It would’ve been especially big this season considering all of the Cubs injuries. As of right now, Only two of the five starters coming into Opening Day—Edward Cabrera and Shota Imanaga—are on the active roster, and Cabrera has already had one stint on the IL.

But, apparently, the best Chicago can hope for is, maybe, some token relief appearances from Steele towards the end of this season and a roll of the dice on 2027.

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Source: https://www.chicitysports.com/chicago-cubs-jed-hoyer-justin-steele-injury-update/