After three straight fairly lackluster outings to start his 2025 campaign, Justin Steele finally turned in an outing Chicago Cubs fans could be proud of on Monday night. The southpaw delivered seven shutout innings, allowing just three hits and two walks to go along with eight strikeouts against a loaded Texas Rangers lineup. The Cubs won that game handily, bouncing back from their ugly loss 24 hours prior.
In the middle of Steele's gem, the 29-year-old surpassed the 500-inning mark for his MLB career, which is now in its fifth season. This was an impressive feat for Steele, a fifth-round draft pick back in 2014 who willed his way through parts of seven minor league seasons before getting a chance to take the mound at the sport's highest level.
It was an accomplishment so special to Steele to the point that he took to social media on Tuesday to express his gratitude for achieving that feat.
500 innings. If you would have told me I’d get here; I would have called you a liar. Never thought this was in the realm of possibilities. 🙏🏻 God is Good. pic.twitter.com/LRSodAgr6k
— Justin Steele (@J_Steele21) April 8, 2025
It felt as if Steele was turning a corner and feeling great about himself until a brutal and shocking update emerged on Wednesday - he's hurt. He was placed on the IL with what the Cubs deemed elbow tendinitis after feeling discomfort in the middle of his start against the Rangers. Steele hopes he'll only be on the IL for a minimal amount of time, but elbow issues are tough to predict.
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
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Good vibes in Chicago were immediately halted thanks to Justin Steele injury update
Talk about a buzzkill. Steele turned in his first quality start of the season and led the Cubs to their sixth win in their last seven games only to then land on the Injured List two days later.
Now, the Cubs do have a decent amount of depth with guys like Colin Rea and Jordan Wicks serving as potential Steele replacements, but this is when the Cubs not adding a frontline starter in the offseason really hurts. The rotation could've used another high-end arm even with Steele, and now with Steele out, Chicago's starting staff looks quite underwhelming relative to other elite teams in the National League.
All Cubs fans can hope for is that Steele's IL stint is as short as he hopes. For this team to be a serious postseason threat, they'll need Steele pitching like the All-Star he is when he's right.