Breaking: Chicago Cubs Gets Devastating News On Justin Steele

What he originally thought was to be just a "minimum stay" on the injured list, has turned into the worst-case scenario for Chicago Cubs ace starter Justin Steele, as the team has announced that he will be having season-ending elbow surgery.

Justin Steele's season is over pic.twitter.com/ZRbwawJ1xz
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 13, 2025

A devastating blow for Steele and the Cubs, who were hoping to challenge for top spot in the wide-open NL Central.

Steele felt "discomfort" in his elbow in the middle of his last start a week ago, but he continued to pitch in the game and wound up tossing seven scoreless innings against the Texas Rangers, surrendering just three hits and striking out eight against just two walks.

The injury was originally called "elbow tendinitis" and Steele and the team have spent a couple of days getting more medical opinions, before arriving at this troubling conclusion.

Chicago Cubs left-hander Justin Steele will undergo reconstructive elbow surgery and miss the remainder of the 2025 season. Unclear yet whether it's a full Tommy John or primary repair, but his season is over regardless. Awful news for the Cubs, who are off to a great start.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 13, 2025

As Jeff Passan reports, it's unclear at this point whether it's a full Tommy John or a 'primary repair'. Either way, he's done until well into the 2026 season.

Through four starts this year, the 29-year-old was sitting with a 4.76 ERA with a 1.15 WHIP with just under a strikeout per inning. In 2023, Steele broke through big-time, being named an All-Star in a season in which he went 16-5 with a 3.06 ERA and 1.17 WHIP, while finishing 5th in Cy Young voting. Steele has a 3.30 ERA with 9.2 K/9 in his five major league seasons, all with the Cubs.