Chicago Cubs Ace On Injured List With Hamstring Injury

The Chicago Cubs made the anticipated move on Saturday, moving their top pitcher, Justin Steele, to the 15-day injured list.

Mar 28, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Justin Steele (35) grabs his leg / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Cubs placed starting pitcher Justin Steele on the 15-day injured list on Saturday after he suffered a left hamstring strain while fielding a baseball on Thursday.

Steele left the game after he suffered the injury and manager Craig Counsell told reporters after the game that it was likely Steele would need time on the injured list. But the Cubs wanted to have Steele undergo an MRI on Friday, which was the Cubs’ off-day after the opener against the Texas Rangers.

Steele’s move to the injured list is retroactive to Friday. He joins another starting pitcher, Jameson Taillon, on the injured list.

In a corresponding move, the Cubs called up Top 10 pitching prospect Ben Brown from Triple-A Iowa.

Steele had a great Opening Day start. He took a no-hitter into the fourth inning, giving up only one walk before he allowed his first hit, a double by Rangers third baseman Josh Jung.

With the game tied 1-1 and with two outs in the fifth, the Rangers’ Leody Taveras put a bunt down the first-base line to try and advance a runner from second base.

Steele fielded the bunt cleanly and threw what looked like a shovel pass to first baseman Michael Busch to try and force out Taveras. Steele rolled to the ground and while he planted his left foot to steady himself he appeared to tweak his hamstring, which became apparent when he grabbed it while lying on the ground.

Cubs trainers took the field to examine him and after a few minutes he was walked off the field.

Steele got the honor of starting on Opening Day after he led the Cubs in victories last season, going 16-5 with a 3.06 ERA. He struck out a career-high 176 in 173.1 innings. He only walked 36. He pitched well enough in the first half to earn a selection to the National League All-Star Team and led the NL in home runs allowed per nine innings with 0.7.

Steele finished in fifth place in Cy Young voting last season. Steele earned a $1 million bonus for finishing in the top five of Cy Young voting and agreed to a $4 million deal with the Cubs for 2024 to avoid arbitration in his first season of eligibility.