The Chicago Cubs entered into this past offseason with the stated goal of targeting front-of-rotation starting pitching.
There were several reason for that. Most notable is the hard, cold reality that a team– especially one with postseason aspirations– can never have too much pitching. It’s a long, long season and any number of things can happen to valuable arms. So, it’s always advisable to try and have more pitchers than one needs.
Despite their lofty rotation goal, however, the Cubs finished the offseason with only rehabbed lefty Matthew Boyd added to the starting staff, along with swing man Colin Rea.
And now, with just a handful of games under their belt, the Cubs have run into their first starting pitching issue as ace left-hander Justin Steele had to be placed on the 15-day injured list with left elbow tendonitis, the same injury that sent him to the IL last September.
Justin Steele Goes Down
Cubs manager Craig Counsell seemed cautiously optimistic about the injury, even with an MRI planned for Thursday.
“We’re gonna take the conservative route here,” Counsell told reporters. “He had symptoms of an injury that he experienced last year. For that reason, rather than have him focus on his next start, I think it’s best to back off that and make sure he recovers in a good place. (We’re) hoping it’s the minimum and he can be ready to go in a couple of weeks.”
Frustratingly, the injury came after Steele’s best outing of the young season, allowing only 3 hits over 7 shutout innings in Monday’s 7-0 win over the Rangers, in a brutally frigid Wrigley Field.
The Cubs will benefit from having four games off over the next couple of weeks, allowing the rotation to operate in 4-man mode for most of that time. Rea has reportedly been designated the fifth starter when needed.
But plans do need to be made if Steele’s injury is more extensive.
A Steele Replacement Via Trade
One of the quickest paths to rotation insurance is via trade.
Major trades this early in the season are fairly rare, but there are some quality arms out there that seem destined to eventually be fodder at the trade deadline. A deal could be pushed forward under the right circumstances and for the right price.
Baseball media voices have jumped on the “insurance for Steele” story and have been tossing out possible trade targets for the Cubs. The names range from Zac Gallen of the Arizona Diamondbacks to Taijuan Walker of the Philadelphia Phillies to Bobby Miller of the Los Angeles Dodgers. There are also the ever-present calls to explore deals for either Dylan Cease or Michael King from the San Diego Padres.
None of those proposed trades seem too realistic at this point of the season, though.
The Chicago Cubs’ Other Options
Another backup plan for an injured Steele is via minor league call-up of top prospect Cade Horton or recently demoted Cubs Jordan Wicks and Keegan Thompson.
While the talent is deep at Triple-A, it would probably be unwise to call up Horton at this stage of a year coming back from injury. Re-adding former big leaguers from the Iowa Cubs would also be more of a temporary stopgap than a long-term fix.
A third backup-to-Steele option for the Cubs is to just be patient.
Javier Assad is not too far away from his first rehab assignment and could be worked into a Steele-less rotation. Rea is also a stable, albeit unspectacular, replacement. Brad Keller could be given a try in the rotation as well.
For now, there’s no need to go into full panic mode about Steele. But, still, preparing for the worst would be smart.
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