Justin Steele’s Return Date Becomes Clearer After Roster Update
The Chicago Cubs needed to open up a few spots on their 40-man roster on Wednesday, when the team finalized its Opening Day roster. A trio of non-roster invitees to spring training made the active squad, as Michael Conforto, Dylan Carlson, and Scott Kingery cracked the Opening Day roster. Fans were already aware that Justin Steele wouldn’t make his season debut until at least May, and now his return date is much clearer following Wednesday’s roster updates.
Steele was officially placed on the 60-day injured list, which means the left-handed starting pitcher won’t be able to come back until the final week of May at the earliest. Again, not much of a surprise as Steele and the Cubs had indicated earlier in March that the pitcher was targeting a late-May to early June return.
Meanwhile, right-handed relief pitcher Jack Neely was designated for assignment. This move is somewhat disappointing as Neely was one of the two prospects that the Cubs acquired from the New York Yankees in 2024, in a trade that sent Mark Leiter Jr. to New York. Neely briefly pitched for the Cubs at the end of the 2024 season, but he was stuck in Triple-A last year as the righty put up big strikeout numbers, but also had command issues.
We’ll see if Neely passes through waivers and returns to the Cubs, who would then outright him to Triple-A.
The Cubs also officially placed infielder/outfielder Tyler Austin on the 60-day injured list prior to Opening Day. Austin signed a one-year deal with the Cubs this past offseason after a handful of years in Japan. Unfortunately, Austin had a knee issue, and he underwent surgery that will sideline him for several months.
Seiya Suzuki is on the 10-day injured list, which is retroactive to March 22. So, if Suzuki recovers soon and only misses the minimum time, he’ll be eligible to return to the lineup on April 1, meaning the right fielder would have only missed five games.
Porter Hodge and Jordan Wicks are also starting the season on the 15-day injured list.
(Previous Update)
Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Justin Steele missed most of the 2025 season after undergoing left-elbow surgery, but the 30-year-old just shared a game-changing update heading into March. Steele said on Saturday that he has been cleared by his surgeon and is back to 100%. Essentially, Steele can now resume a normal ramp-up in spring training, meaning his return to the Cubs’ rotation could come sooner than some experts first theorized.
Steele underwent UCL revision last April and while some fans might have seen that UCL injury and assumed Tommy John surgery, but the time frame to return is shorter for the procedure Steele went through. The Cubs’ lefty shared the update on Twitter and passed along a video of his latest throwing session in Arizona.
We kind of forget how good Steele was in the rotation because of his absence, but from 2022-24, the left-hander was a steady force in the rotation.
Justin Steele 2022-24
2022: 24 starts, 3.18 ERA, 119 IP, 24.6 K%
2023: 30 starts, 3.06 ERA, 173.1 IP, 24.6 K%
2024: 24 starts, 3.07 ERA, 134.2 IP, 24.3 K%
There is no question that the Cubs have a better rotation with Steele in it, and his return also gives the team a much more formidable one for the postseason. Fingers crossed that Steele doesn’t experience any setbacks as he continues his comeback, but today’s update was a giant step forward for him and the Cubs.