Four Cubs Who Need to Step Up in Wake of Devastating Justin Steele Injury

The Chicago Cubs will need some pitchers to elevate their game with the news of their star ace lost for the season.

Michael Brauner | Apr 13, 2025

Apr 1, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Justin Steele (35) throws a pitch during the second inning against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park. / Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

In this story:

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs got an absolutely brutal early season break on Sunday when it was announced that their star ace left-hander will undergo season-ending surgery on his elbow.

After an elite start this past week for Justin Steele against the Texas Rangers that saw him throw seven scoreless innings while allowing just three hits and striking out eight, he was moved to the 15-day injured list for what was initially reported as a case of elbow tendonitis.

Over the weekend however, the Cubs told the media they were sending Steele for a second opinion which raised concerns the injury could be more serious than initially expected.

On Sunday, that proved to be the case when the team announced the 29-year-old instead of returning in a couple of weeks was instead lost for the entire remainder of the campaign.

As a result, a Chicago pitching staff which was already extremely thin now gets even thinner as the rotation loses one of its two aces.

Now, the Cubs will be in desperate need of some existing healthy talent on the roster to step up, something which will be critical if they are to make a real postseason push and contend for a National League pennant as they look poised to do here in the early going of the season.

Here are four players in particular Chicago could really use elevated performance from the rest of the way:

Shota Imanaga

This one is fairly obvious. The Cubs have two aces when healthy, and Imanaga is one of them. Though things did not go well in the first test without Steele for the Kitakyushu native, but overall he has been fairly sensational this season. In four starts, he has a 2.70 ERA with a WHIP of just 0.900. There's no question who the alpha is in this rotation now, and Chicago needs Imanaga to pitch like it.

Colin Rea

The 34-year-old who the Cubs stole away from the Milwaukee Brewers this offseason was not brought to the Windy City to necessarily be in the rotation, but he very well may find his way squarely in it now. Getting his first shot on Sunday night to start for Chicago, Rea has plenty of experience. With 49 starts over the last two seasons with the Brewers, Rea being able to eat innings reliably would go a long way.

Matthew Boyd

Boyd did not bring a ton of fanfare when the Cubs brought him in on a two-year deal due to a lack of ability to stay on the field over the years. However, he has been perhaps the pleasant surprise of the season to start the year for this staff. The left-hander has an ERA of 1.59 in three starts and 17 strikeouts in 17 innings. If Chicago is going to hold things together, Boyd will be a huge part of why.

Cade Horton

Javier Assad is still going to return from the injured list and be given every chance to succeed, so the Cubs do not need their top pitching prospect ready to go right this second. However, Horton was always expected to factor in at some point this season, and now it looks like Chicago might be in urgent need of the youngster.

The good news is that he has a 1.23 ERA in his first two starts for Triple-A Iowa with 12 strikeouts in just 7.1 innings. For Horton, the stuff is there. If he can prove he's ready, he could have the chance to save this rotation.

Shota Imanaga

Colin Rea

Matthew Boyd

Cade Horton

Recommended Articles