'Looks like Justin': Steele faces live hitters as key step in recovery

MESA, Ariz. – Cubs starters Matthew Boyd and Cade Horton were among a group of pitchers who found seats behind home plate in Sloan Park’s empty stands Friday morning. They were not going to miss this milestone day for lefty Justin Steele.

With players and staff looking on, Steele took the mound at Chicago’s spring home and faced hitters for the first time in 11 months. The veteran starter may have only thrown 19 pitches, but this was the next important step in Steele’s ongoing comeback from left elbow surgery.

“I’ve worked really hard to come back as fast as I could and as strong as I could,” Steele said. “It was really cool to see all my teammates and coaches come out to watch.”

Nothing has changed about Steele’s projected timetable. He gained clearance earlier this spring from his surgeon, Dr. Keith Meister, to move forward in a normal starter’s buildup schedule, but both Steele and the Cubs are taking a patient approach to his return. Barring any setbacks, May or June remains the realistic window for his activation.

Steele got back on a mound in January for the first time since his procedure (ulnar collateral ligament revision repair on April 18, 2025) and has continued to ramp up with no issues. For Friday’s workout, Michael Busch and Jonathon Long took turns facing the lefty, ending with three strikeouts and two fly balls.

Both Busch and Long struck out swinging, offering instant feedback for how Steele’s pitches were moving.

“Looks like Justin,” Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said with a smile. “There’s days where he has really good cut to the fastball and gets weak contact. And there’s days where it has a little more carry, where you get more swing and miss. I thought today, you kind of saw a little bit of both.”

As things currently stand, the Cubs plan on having the veteran Boyd take the ball on Opening Day to lead a rotation that also projects to include Horton, Shota Imanaga, Edward Cabrera and Jameson Taillon. That is already a solid group from top to bottom, even before the possibility of reintroducing Steele to the equation.

Steele was drafted (fifth round in 2014) and developed by the Cubs, growing into an All-Star and National League Cy Young contender in ‘23. The lefty was then Chicago’s Opening Day starter in ‘24 and turned in another solid but injury-shortened tour. Steele’s ‘25 season lasted only four starts before the elbow injury flared and surgery was required.

While the Cubs returned to the postseason, Steele was focusing on his comeback.

“It’s a long time not competing,” Hottovy said. “And for a guy like Justin who’s an uber-competitor, that’s what you live for. You live for being able to go out and compete against somebody else. He’s been competing against himself for the last 10, 12 months.”

That is a long time to be without a pitcher who had emerged as one of the better starters in the game.

Across the ‘23-24 seasons, there were 79 pitchers who racked up at least 250 innings. Among those arms during that two-year period, Steele ranked sixth in ERA (3.07), sixth in homer-to-flyball ratio (9.3%), sixth in hard-hit rate (27.2%), seventh in homers per nine innings (0.76), and eighth in Fielding Independent Pitching (3.11).

Steele said he had more anxiety when returning from Tommy John surgery as a Minor Leaguer. This time around, the elbow procedure did not require a new ligament and the recovery has been swifter to this point. Steele added that he has felt fairly normal with his throwing since first being cleared to pick up a baseball again.

“It’s kind of been smooth sailing as far as the rehab process has been going,” he said. “As soon as I started throwing bullpens, however long ago that was, I was kind of like, ‘I feel like I could face hitters right now.’ It was a very similar feeling as to what it was before the surgery.”

That said, Steele is not trying to push the envelope and risk a setback, especially when he wants to help the Cubs make a deep run in October.

“We’re obviously very excited with where I'm at and how I’m feeling,” Steele said. “But I think we’re doing a really good job of keeping a level head throughout this process.”

Still, everyone in Sloan Park recognized the importance of Friday’s outing.

“Days like today, they’re so fun,” Hottovy said. “It’s a big milestone step in the journey of the surgery. Very productive day. I think it went as well as he could’ve wanted it and hoped for it to go.”