Cubs’ Justin Steele shut down in rehab from Tommy John surgery in just in hit to Chicago pitching staff
Steele was working his way back after undergoing Tommy John surgery last April
By
Matt Snyder
Apr 28, 2026
at
7:41 pm ET
•
1 min read
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The Cubs pitching staff has been absolutely ravaged with injuries and more bad news popped up on Tuesday. Lefty Justin Steele, who had Tommy John surgery last April, suffered a setback in his rehab and had to be shut down. He will be re-evaluated in a month, per Cubs manager Craig Counsell (via The Athletic).
“This is a place that’s hard because there’s not much you can say to make a person feel better in this situation,” Counsell mentioned. “The grind of a rehab, unfortunately, can do this to you. You don’t have a choice but to kind of take it in and try to go have a good day tomorrow. Today was obviously not a good day for Justin. But I think that’s the attitude he’s going to take. It’s your only choice, really, in this thing.”
This news means Steele will almost certainly not be back until after the All-Star break, maybe even until August. We’re nearly to May and he’s shut down for a month. Even if his re-evaluation goes well, he’d need to build back up his arm strength before heading out on a minor-league rehab stint.
Earlier this month, the Cubs lost young righty Cade Horton for the year. In addition to these two starters, there are eight other pitchers on the injured list, including late-inning relievers Daniel Palencia, Hunter Harvey and Caleb Thielbar.
The current Cubs’ rotation is Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, Edward Cabrera, Jameson Taillon and Colin Rea. The sixth option would be Javier Assad. It’ll likely stay this way until Steele returns. Top prospect Jaxon Wiggins, in Triple-A, is also out with an injury.
Despite all the injuries, the Cubs recently won 10 games in a row, though they’ve since lost three straight. They are 17-12, good for second place in the NL Central.
