Slowly but surely, the Chicago Cubs are cleaning up their IL.
It's no secret that the organization has been among the most injury-plagued this season. Countless pitchers have been forced to miss extended time with bumps and bruises, including a long list of starters. One of those arms is potential ace Justin Steele . The lefty was supposed to be back in the mix by now, but an early-season setback pushed his timeline to well past the All-Star break.
The good news is that the 30-year-old has yet to face any other setbacks during the rehab process. The bad news is that the Cubs have essentially ruled out the possibility of him starting games in 2026. Instead, the plan seems to be for him to come out of the bullpen, assuming he's added back to the active MLB roster at all.
Indeed, Megan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune shared that Craig Counsell does not believe there will be enough time this season to stretch Steele out as a starter. But that doesn't mean he hasn't continued to make real progress in his overall recovery.
Steele was officially cleared to begin throwing this week. The plan will then be to have him throwing off the mound during the first week of August, per Montemurro. How quickly this will lead to real in-game rehab appearances is unclear, but things can certainly move quickly once he makes it through a few mound sessions.
Again, Steele may not be destined for his normal MLB role this season, which is understandable. But with how disastrous things have been for the Cubs in the pitching department lately, they will happily take Steele's tricky stuff in whatever capacity. Even having him out of the bullpen for a playoff run could prove huge.
Jun 13, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Phil Maton (88) delivers a pitch during the ninth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
There has been a lot to be disappointed about when it comes to the Chicago Cubs' pitching this season, but Phil Maton's performance takes the sour-tasting cake.
The relief pitcher was the Cubs' marquee free-agent signing, inking a deal worth $14.5 million over two years. The decision came after an excellent three-year stretch, which ended with him posting a 2.79 ERA with both the Cardinals and Rangers last season.
Nevertheless, everything has gone downhill in 2026. Maton has a brutal 6.08 ERA in his 26.2 innings of work. He's looked legitimately lost at times on the mound, performing like a true liability in big moments. Both his strikeout rate and whiff rate have plummeted. The same goes for his hard-hit rate, which sat in the 99th percentile in 2025 at 30.7 percent. It's now at 44.3 percent.
Things have been so bad that it's hard to imagine seeing him take a full 180 over the last half of the year. But, hey, crazier things have happened. Maton is a seasoned veteran, and we all know he has some really good breaking balls in his arsenal. Who is to say this recent time off can't help him finally flip the script?
If one thing is for sure, he looked like his old self during his most recent rehab performance! Maton came out in relief for the Iowa Cubs on Wednesday, throwing three strikeouts and retiring all batters he faced in 1.2 innings of work. Overall, 13 of his 15 pitches went down as strikes. That's more like it!
It's only one outing, and it's only against minor league talent. But considering how bad things have been for Maton, that feels pretty darn encouraging. The big question now is, how long do the Cubs wait to bring him back into the fold? Both Caleb Thielbar and Drew Pomeranz nearly blew the game on Wednesday night, serving as a reminder that Craig Counsell needs as many options as possible.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/cubs/onsi as Cubs Pitching News: A Big Justin Steele Update, Phil Maton Looking Good? .
