Justin Steele is back on the Cubs’ radar, but the postseason math may already be telling the story.
After finishing his minor-league rehab assignment with the Iowa Cubs over the weekend, Steele is expected to be with the big-league club on Tuesday as Chicago enters the final week of the regular season. The Cubs still haven’t locked in a final decision on what comes next, but Craig Counsell’s comments over the weekend pointed in a direction that suggests Steele may not be part of the playoff picture.
If the Cubs do use him in October, the role would be out of the bullpen. That’s where the problem starts. Chicago needs pitchers who can handle back-to-back days in a postseason series, and Steele simply doesn’t appear to be there yet in his recovery.
He began his rehab stint on September 2 and was working on roughly a week between appearances, with weather playing a part in the spacing. That kind of usage makes it hard to see him as more than a one-time option in a playoff series. In other words, he doesn’t look like someone who can move the needle for the Cubs in October, which is why the likeliest outcome may be a shutdown and a shift in focus toward a healthy offseason and a return to the starting rotation next year.
There was still plenty to like from his latest outing for Iowa. Steele threw two no-hit innings, struck out five of the seven batters he faced, and showed a fastball that was back above 90 MPH. His slider also had the kind of bite Cubs fans have come to expect.
That’s the encouraging part. The harder part is the decision the Cubs have to make now: whether those two innings in a playoff run are worth more than keeping Steele healthy for the start of the 2027 season. That’s the calculation behind the scenes, and it’s the kind that usually wins out in a front office even if it leaves fans wanting more.
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