11:05am: that he first felt discomfort during his most recent start against the Rangers. He gutted through another couple innings, but the discomfort lingered in the days following that appearance. He believes itll be a minimum IL stint. 10:22am: The Cubs placed lefty on the 15-day injured list due to tendinitis in his left elbow, per a team announcement. Righty has been recalled from Triple-A Iowa to take his spot on the roster. Its something of a surprise IL placement for the excellent 29-year-old southpaw. The Cubs hadnt previously acknowledged any elbow troubles for Steele at least not publicly and hes coming off the best results of his season to date. He fired seven shutout innings with three hits, two walks and eight punchouts against the Rangers just two days ago. Steeles fastball averaged just 90. Denzel Curry Jersey 2 mph during that outing, however, tying him for the lowest mark of his career. At first glance, that couldve been chalked up to frigid low-30s temperatures at Wrigley Field, but it seems theres at least some degree of elbow trouble at play. On the whole, Statcast has measured Steeles average heater at 90.8 mph this season a career-low mark thats down even relative to his early work in prior seasons. The Cubs havent given any sort of timetable for Steeles absence. Hell be sidelined into late April at the very least, joining fellow starter on the injured list. The Cubs still have , , and locked into rotation spots. Veteran swingman seems likely to step into the starting five in place of Steele, though lefty gives Chicago a healthy option whos on the 40-man roster down in Triple-A. Fellow Triple-A starter , also on the 40-man roster, was placed on the minor league IL over the weekend after giving up six runs in 2 1/3 innings during his 2025 debut. The Cubs have an off-day tomorrow one of five remaining off-days on their schedule in the month of April. They still have six consecutive days with a game from April 11-16, so theyll need a fifth starter during that stretch, but they can plug Rea or Wicks in as the starter in a de facto bullpen game and navigate the rest of the month with only four starters, pending the rest of the groups health. Roberts, 27, has pitched in a pair of big league seasons with the Cubs but has yet to cement himself as a regular in the bullpen. Hell give manager Craig Counsell a fresh arm for now, and his early work in Iowa is certainly eye-catching; hes appeared in three games, tallied 4 1/3 innings and held opponents scorele s on four hits and no walks with eight strikeouts. Alonzo Mourning Jersey