The Chicago Cubs recently suffered the most devastating pitching-related blow possible when they lost lefty ace Justin Steele for the season due to an elbow injury.
Although rumored to be in for Tommy John surgery, Steele, instead, had a left ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) revision repair operation this past Friday. Although it was less invasive and complicated of a procedure than the full-on UCL reconstruction, the surgery will still keep the Cubs’ most consistent pitcher over the last several years out of the picture for the rest of 2025 and a good chunk of 2026.
“We’re looking at kind of about a year time frame,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told media on Saturday. “Obviously, he’s got a long rehab ahead of him, and he’ll get started soon and he’ll put all the work in, and we’ll see where that gets us.”
A post-surgery Steele, apparently in good spirits, will be headed down to the team’s complex in Mesa, Arizona to begin rehab work.
But while the Steele drama has been playing out, another Cubs pitcher may be headed in a similar season-ending direction as the team’s shutdown front-of-rotation starter.
Chicago Cubs Place Reliever On IL, Signs Are Not Good
On April 15, right-handed reliever Eli Morgan was placed on the 15-day injured list, suffering from “right elbow impingement.”
On Saturday, Counsell also revealed that the 28-year-old Morgan underwent an MRI to assess the damage to his arm and is currently getting a second opinion.
For those who followed the Steele injury saga as it played out, that’s almost the exact series of events that lead to Steele eventually being lost for the season. Very generally speaking, second opinions are not pursued for good news.
Of course, the big difference between Morgan and Steele is that Steele had established himself as a true asset over the course of several years and was coming off his best performance so far this season when he got the unfortunate news of his injury. Morgan, meanwhile, wasn’t exactly killing it as a middle reliever.
Morgan Had Been Struggling
At the time of his injury, he was riding a brutal ERA of 12.27 through 7.1 innings and 7 appearances. In his last game before being sent to the IL, Morgan gave up 4 earned runs in two-thirds of an inning, allowing 3 hits and walking one versus the San Diego Padres on April 14.
This past offseason, Morgan was acquired from the Cleveland Guardians for minor leaguer Alfonsin Rosario. At the time, he was thought to be a key acquisition for a Cubs bullpen in full rebuild mode. In 2024, he performed well in the Guardians’ pen, finishing the season with a 1.93 ERA in 42 innings pitched over 32 games.
Morgan, however, failed to make the big league squad out of spring training and didn’t get the call-up until their domestic opening day against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix amid a series of other roster moves.
No Info Yet
No information has been released yet regarding his injury status, but it wouldn’t be too surprising if the injury was a significant one.
The loss of Morgan won’t be as deeply felt as that of Steele, obviously. The Chicago front office did a very good job in the offseason of building depth in the Cubs’ bullpen and, at most, Morgan was considered to be solid building block of a much larger construction.
Still, one player down is one player down and every single arm counts.
For now, the Cubs wait and see regarding the extent of Morgan’s injury.
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