DENVER – Left-hander Justin Steele went through the biggest intensity test of his throwing program Saturday at Coors Field before the Cubs played the second game of the series against the Rockies.
Steele (left elbow tendinitis) threw about 40 pitches in his bullpen session, he said, with batters standing in for the last 10 to 15.
“The biggest thing is having the relief of throwing and not feeling anything,” Steele said. “… Mentally, I’m just a lot more free playing catch; in my bullpen, more focused on doing things over the plate, not necessarily worried about how my arm’s feeling.”
Steele’s recovery from his bullpen Saturday will be the biggest factor in his timeline to return. If all goes well, the plan is for him to throw a light bullpen back at Wrigley Field when the Cubs return to Chicago next week, before being activated.
That means he could pitch again as early as mid-to-late next week, shortly after he becomes eligible to be reinstated.
“We’ll check in tomorrow and make sure recovery goes well,” manager Craig Counsell said, “and then move forward from there.”
The Cubs’ performance over the next few days – and that of the Mets and Braves, who are competing for the last National League wild-card seat – will determine whether the Cubs will be playing meaningful games when Steele returns.
After dropping the first game of the series 9-5 to the Rockies, the Cubs entered Saturday six games back of a playoff berth. Both the Mets and Braves hold the tiebreaker over the Cubs.
“If he’s healthy, he’s going to pitch,” Counsell said. “That’s the bottom line.”
If, with a winning streak and some luck, the Cubs make up ground before Steele’s return, he could provide an important jolt to help the team continue to cling to their playoff hopes, however unlikely.
Even if they’re comfortably out of the race, the Cubs see benefits to Steele pitching again this season.
“There’s always value to be had with innings being pitched,” said Steele, who has thrown 128 innings so far this season, “especially showing that you’re healthy towards the end of the season, going into offseason.”
Steele followed up his breakout season last year with a 2024 season that’s been even more impressive in some ways. He’s just about matched his 3.06 ERA from last year, when he finished fifth in NL Cy Young voting. And contained within his 3.09 ERA this year is continued development, as he has worked to stay ahead of hitters by diversifying his pitch mix.
Colorado ties
The Cubs coaching staff has strong ties to Colorado.
The Rockies drafted Counsell in the 11th round of the 1992 MLB Draft. He debuted with the team in September of 1995.
Darren Holmes, now the Cubs’ bullpen coach, was a reliever on that team. He spent five seasons with the Rockies and returned in 2015-19 as the bullpen coach.
Mark Strittmatter, now the Cubs’ field coordinator and catching coach, came up in the Rockies’ farm system at the same time as Counsell but didn’t debut until September 1998. In his post-playing career, he was with the Rockies from 2003 to 2010 as a bullpen catcher and catching coach, and then again in 2013-23 as the minor-league catching coordinator.