Bad Break for Chicago Cubs With Latest News on Ace Justin Steele

The news seems to have come out of nowhere, as the Chicago Cubs have placed ace starter Justin Steele on the injured list with elbow tendinitis.

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

Per beat writer Jesse Rogers, Steele said he felt elbow discomfort in the middle of his last start, which came on Monday. You wouldn't have known it, as he tossed seven scoreless innings against the Texas Rangers, surrendering just three hits and striking out eight against just two walks.

He says he pitched a couple of scoreless innings with the soreness and was fine to get through the game. However, he still felt the discomfort in his elbow on Tuesday. Steele feels that it'll be a "minimum stay" on the IL, but with elbow troubles for a pitcher, you never know.

And while the surface numbers from his last start were stunning, looking under the hood, Statcast reveals that Steele's fastball was down to a career low 90.2 mph, and just 90.8 on the season through three starts. Again, a low point for his career.

On the season, Steele leads the majors with three wins, and 22.2 innings pitched. But he's also given up an MLB-high five homers, which has resulted in an overall 4.76 ERA, to go with a 1.15 WHIP. He has a 21:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

The Cubs have recalled right-hander Ethan Roberts rom Triple-A Iowa to take Steele's spot on the roster.