Weather issues have complicated the final stretch of the regular season for the Cubs. A three-game set against the Red Sox has been moved up due to a pending storm in Boston. With a doubleheader now on Friday, Chicago will have four games in three days, starting with an afternoon matchup against the Marlins today.
The condensed schedule could force the club into some interesting decisions as it tries to line up the rotation for the playoffs. The Cubs have nearly secured a playoff berth, but there isn’t much clarity on the exact position. Chicago is tied with Philadelphia for the No. 2 Wild Card spot. The teams are a game behind San Diego. Matthew Boyd will start on Thursday, with David Peterson and Clay Holmes likely going on Friday.
One candidate to cover some innings against the Red Sox is Justin Steele. The lefty hasn’t pitched in the majors since April 2025 as he recovers from elbow surgery. A setback during the recovery process led Chicago to shift Steele to a relief role. Manager Craig Counsell didn’t sound overly enthused about Steele’s status, but noted he could be in the mix versus Boston.
“He’s an option, I guess, is the best way to say it,” Counsell told reporters earlier this week, including Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. “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, what this weekend gives us.”
Steele has pitched in four games with Triple-A Iowa. He’s been scored upon in all but one outing, though he does have 11 strikeouts over 7 2/3 innings. Steele has maxed out at two innings and 36 pitches. He could be a left-handed piggyback to a right-handed long reliever like Colin Rea or Javier Assad.
One consideration with activating Steele from the 60-day IL would be the corresponding 40-man roster move. Chicago’s 40-man is currently full. It might not be worth making a move just to bring Steele back for a couple of innings. He’s unlikely to factor into the club’s postseason plans.
Here are a couple of additional injury notes for the Cubs…
Third baseman Alex Bregman is likely to return as a DH in the postseason, at least initially. He’s working his way back from facial fractures suffered after taking a foul ball to the face. “I would, frankly, lean towards DH off the bat, just because it’s less,” Counsell told reporters (h/t Mooney). “I’m sure Alex has the goal of playing third base, and we want him to play third base, but I would probably at the start think he’d be a DH.” Bregman was not placed on the IL. He was scheduled to hit off the Trajekt machine Wednesday and is progressing toward defensive work. Right-hander Kevin Gausman hurt his left shoulder during the final play of his outing on Wednesday. He dove to tag Heriberto Hernandez, who was trying to go first to third on an infield single. Gausman told reporters he’s still sore today and is getting treatment on his shoulder (h/t Bruce Levine of 670 The Score). The veteran righty isn’t scheduled to pitch again in the regular season. He should have at least a week to rest up before the Wild Card round.Photo courtesy of Matt Marton, Imagn Images
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