Justin Steele had Tommy John surgery just about a year ago. So, most were hoping he could come back to the Cubs rotation sometime in late May or early June.
That, apparently, will not be happening:
We don’t really know anything beyond this, yet. A “setback” could be a few days, or a few weeks, or longer, we just don’t know. “Shut down” could last… well, again, we don’t know.
It’s fortunate that the Cubs rotation, put together mostly by patchwork at this point, has been doing pretty well. Entering tonight’s game against the Padres, the Cubs starters have a 4.18 ERA, which is middle of the pack (14th) among all teams, just behind the Rangers at 4.17.
Obviously the Cubs would like this ranking to improve.
One thing that almost certainly will NOT happen anytime soon is a trade for a starter who would improve the rotation. No team is going to be trading a quality starting pitcher before the end of April.
So the Cubs will have to hope that Shōta Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, Edward Cabrera, Colin Rea and Jameson Taillon can hold things together until July, when there likely will be starters on the market. Or maybe Steele can be ready to return after the All-Star break.
As always, we await developments. Today’s game preview will post at 6:30 p.m. CT.
