CHICAGO -- One of the priorities for the Cubs this winter is to target and acquire some help for a rotation that was thinned by injury setbacks by the time the playoffs arrived last season. The North Siders are hopeful another boost will arrive early next year.
Veteran left-hander Justin Steele -- an All-Star and Cy Young contender in ‘23 and Chicago’s Opening Day starter in ‘24 -- is currently on a path for a potential return from elbow surgery around May. Given his importance to the Cubs, the team tendered a contract to Steele for next season.
“Absolutely, we’re excited,” Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said this week. “Not only just for what he can do on the field, but the stability he brings to the table for the rest of the group, knowing Steele’s there. He’s such a good competitor and everybody loves being around him.”
Both Steele and righty Javier Assad were tendered contracts ahead of Friday’s deadline for offering ‘26 deals to any unsigned players, including those eligible for arbitration. Steele is eligible for the third time after earning $6.55 million last season, while Assad is entering the arbitration process for the first time.
If the Cubs do not reach an agreement with either Steele or Assad, the two sides would exchange proposed salary figures by the Jan. 8 deadline. Chicago’s front office has a strong history of signing players prior to that step in order to avoid a salary-arbitration hearing.
After taking the ball in the season opener in ‘24, Steele pitched in the second game of the ‘25 season so lefty Shota Imanaga could have the honor of being the Opening Day pitcher against the Dodgers in the Tokyo Series in Japan. Steele then only made it four starts into his campaign before a left elbow injury ended his season.
The 30-year-old Steele underwent surgery in April to address the flexor tendon and ulnar collateral ligament. That came after the pitcher had grown into one of baseball’s top left-handed starters in the previous two years, in which Steele turned in a 3.07 ERA with 311 strikeouts against 73 walks in 308 innings (54 starts).
Steele was around the Cubs during their run to the National League Division Series and resumed a throwing program in late October in Arizona.
“Where he is right now and how he’s feeling, it’s a great starting point,” Hottovy said. “There’s just a lot of boxes for him to check along the way, but we feel confident with where he’s at that he’s in a really good place. And his delivery is very easy -- it doesn’t take a lot of maintenance. So, once he gets into a good rhythm and he’s progressing to where he wants to be, he’s going to be in a good spot.”
As things currently stand, the Cubs’ rotation has Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Colin Rea and Imanaga all under contract for at least ‘26. Cade Horton -- the NL Rookie of the Year runner-up for ‘25 -- is also in the fold, along with fellow pre-arbitration arms Ben Brown and Jordan Wicks. Assad, Brown and Wicks are rotation options, but could also contend for bullpen jobs in the spring.
Assad, 28, has logged a 3.43 ERA in parts of four seasons with the Cubs, posting a 3.51 ERA in 54 career starts and a 3.05 ERA in 24 career relief outings. The right-hander was limited to eight appearances (seven starts) last season due to a left oblique injury, but was effective (3.65 ERA) in his 37 innings of work.
McGuire, Morgan non-tendered by Cubs
Backup catcher Reese McGuire and right-handed reliever Eli Morgan were both non-tendered by Chicago on Friday, sending both players into the offseason’s free-agent pool.
McGuire stepped up for the Cubs in ‘25 as a backup to Carson Kelly for much of the season, while catcher Miguel Amaya was out with injury issues. The 30-year-old McGuire had a career-high nine home runs in 44 games, posting a .444 slugging percentage, .688 OPS and 94 OPS+ in 140 plate appearances. He is a veteran of eight MLB seasons with the Blue Jays, Red Sox, White Sox and Cubs.
The Cubs acquired the 29-year-old Morgan from the Guardians on Nov. 20 last offseason in exchange for outfield prospect Alfonsin Rosario (currently No. 12 on Pipeline’s Top 30 list for Cleveland). Morgan appeared in only seven games (12.27 ERA) for the Cubs due to a right elbow injury that kept him shelved and rehabbing for the bulk of the year.