The Chicago Cubs may be getting Justin Steele back at the exact moment they need another arm the most.
Steele, who has been out all season after elbow surgery in 2025, has spent the last couple of weeks ramping up in rehab games with Triple-A Iowa. The results have only gotten better. By the time he reached his final outing on September 18, he had put together his sharpest showing yet: 2.0 scoreless innings, no hits allowed, five strikeouts and just one walk.
That was enough for Craig Counsell to sound encouraged on Tuesday. He called it a "great sign."
Counsell went a step further, too, and left the door open for a return before the playoffs. With five games remaining before the Wild Card round, the Cubs are at least considering Steele as a possible piece this weekend.
"He's an option, I guess is the best way to say it," Counsell told reporters (h/t Marquee Sports Network). He's going to throw bullpen tomorrow.
I think the plan is for him to be an option this weekend, possibly. We'll just kind of see what this weekend has in store for us and what this weekend gives us to make a decision."
If Steele does get into a game, it will be his first appearance since his start on April 7, 2025. The plan, for now, is almost certainly to use him out of the bullpen. The Cubs have not stretched him out enough to send him back into a starting role this season, and asking him to handle that kind of workload now would be too much.
Even the idea of bringing him back carries risk. He has looked healthy in the minors, but that is still a tiny sample against a very different level of competition. Chicago would be sending him straight into a tense stretch with Wild Card seeding still unsettled.
At the same time, the Cubs are running short on alternatives. Their bullpen has continued to let games slip away late, and Tuesday night brought another example in extra innings against the Miami Marlins. Chicago had a chance to clinch the playoffs in the series opener and could not finish the job.
That reality makes Steele even more valuable. The Cubs know what he can look like at his best, and they also made it clear at the trade deadline that they expect to be in the mix for a postseason run. In that sense, the logic is simple: if Steele can help, why not use him?
Still, Counsell is expected to handle the situation carefully. The Cubs have no interest in rushing Steele back into the wrong spot or putting him in a spot that could lead to another setback, physical or otherwise.
The next few days could get messy, especially with Boston’s weather expected to be so bad that the two teams have already set a doubleheader to guard against a postponement. That only adds to the importance of having Steele available. With this bullpen, and with rain in the forecast, the Cubs can use every option they can get.
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