Injury Hits Top of Cubs Starting Rotation

The Chicago Cubs have had pretty good luck with health throughout the first two weeks of the regular season, but now an injury has hit the top of the starting rotation. Justin Steele has been placed on the 15-day injured list because of left elbow tendinitis, following his best start of the year.

Steele pitched seven shutout innings against the Texas Rangers on Monday, when the Cubs won the series opener 7-0. The lefty struck out eight batters and only allowed three hits and a pair of walks on 91 pitches. Steele will now be out for the next two weeks.

The Cubs pitcher said he believes he'll be back no later than the 15-day stint.

Cubs starter Justin Steele felt elbow discomfort in the middle of his last start. He pitched a couple more scoreless innings but still felt it the next day. He’s on the IL for what he thinks will be a minimum stay.

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) April 9, 2025

On Wednesday, Steele said he felt something tighten up in the middle of his start against the Rangers. The good news is that Steele has gone through this type of injury before and he's rebounded in the minimum amount of time on the IL.

“Arm was starting to tighten up on me a little bit. It was the 4th of 5th inning … They just made the decision to go ahead and put me on the IL.”

Justin Steele on being moved to the 15-day IL. pic.twitter.com/JKAgucKQST

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) April 9, 2025

The 29-year-old pitcher just surpassed the 500-inning mark in his MLB career after Monday's game. Steele has a 3.30 ERA in 102 career appearances with the Cubs. That includes three straight seasons of making at least 24 starts and posting a sub-3.20 ERA from 2022-24.

In 2024, Steele missed time on the injured list because of a hamstring strain in the beginning of the year and then had elbow tendinitis in September.

For now, the Cubs decided to get an extra arm in the bullpen and have called up right-handed pitcher Ethan Roberts from Triple-A. Roberts, 27, pitched in 21 games with the Cubs last season and recorded a 3.71 ERA in 26.2 innings.

Looking ahead, the Cubs will either call up Jordan Wicks to fill in for Steele in the starting rotation or veteran starter Colin Rea will make a spot start during the team's upcoming West Coast road trip.