Here Comes Justin Steele? Cubs Say He Could Be an "Option" Before Playoffs

It took until the last series of the regular season, but the Chicago Cubs may finally welcome back Justin Steele.

The former Cubs ace has been sidelined all season long following elbow surgery in 2025. His rehab kicked into high gear a couple of weeks back, as he started to appear in rehab outings with Triple-A Iowa. The next four games would prove incredibly encouraging, as Steele looked more in command with every performance.

It all culminated in his final rehab appearance on September 18. Steele would throw 2.0 innings of work and strike out five batters. He didn't allow a single run or hit, with his only blemish being a walk. Manager Craig Counsell was quick to call out Steele's productive day on Tuesday, calling it a "great sign."

More importantly, however, Counsell suggested that Steele could now be on the brink of an official MLB return. With the Cubs having five more games on the schedule before the Wild Card round, Counsell pointed toward this weekend for a possible return:

"He's an option, I guess is the best way to say it," Counsell told reporters (h/t Marquee Sports Network). He's going to throw bullpen tomorrow. I think the plan is for him to be an option this weekend, possibly. We'll just kind of see what this weekend has in store for us and what this weekend gives us to make a decision."

The plan for Steele will almost certainly be to use him out of the bullpen. While he should return to a starting role in 2027, the Cubs have yet to stretch him out. It would also be far too much to ask for at this point in the season with so much on the line. Heck, even having Steele return at all comes with a certain amount of risk.

If Justin Steele is able to appear in a game in the coming days, it will be his first since his start on April 7, 2025.

Justin Steele Return On the Horizon for Cubs

Apr 1, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Justin Steele (35) looks on after throwing a pitch against the Athletics during the second inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Whether Justin Steele should return this season is likely a fair question. As healthy as he has looked in the minor leagues, it's still an incredibly small sample size against an entirely different level of competition. The Cubs would quite literally be throwing him into the fire at this point in the year, specifically with Wild Card seeding still up for grabs.

At the same time, what choice do the Cubs have? They have repeatedly seen their bullpen blow games down the stretch. They are fresh off another instance of this on Tuesday night, as multiple relievers failed to limit the damage in extra innings to the Miami Marlins. The Cubs had a chance to clinch the playoffs in the series opener, only to come up short.

Simply put, the Cubs need as many options as they can get, and they know what the best version of Steele can bring to the table. Chicago also made it clear at this season's trade deadline that they hope to go on a postseason run, so why not exhaust all options?

Regardless, we should expect Craig Counsell to be incredibly careful with when and where Steele is used. The last thing anyone wants is for him to experience a physical setback or have his mental state rocked after being thrown into a bad situation.

With that in mind, the next few days could be pretty complicated. The weather in Boston is expected to be disastrous, so much so that the two teams have now scheduled a doubleheader to avoid a potential postponement. Still, that might be another reason why having Steele as an option proves so important. This Cubs bullpen has been rough enough! Throw in some wet conditions, and who knows how things will go!

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