The last couple of days have been significant for Chicago Cubs left-hander Justin Steele, significant enough to post about it on social media.
On Friday, Steele — who is recovering from left elbow revision surgery — threw a bullpen session at the team’s facility in Mesa, Ariz. On Saturday, he revealed that his surgeon, Dr. Keith Meister, cleared him. Medically speaking, it means his injury has healed.
Steele, naturally, is excited about it.
Justin Steele’s injury recovery
Steele posted about his bullpen and his latest meeting with Dr. Meister on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday morning.
“Last bullet from my bullpen yesterday. Got cleared by Dr. Meister today. Good day for some reflection. Just wanna say thank you to everyone who’s helped me along this journey to getting back to 100% . Coaches, trainers, staff, family, and everything in between. You all know who you are and I truly appreciate you. Also wanna thank My Lord and Savior; Jesus Christ. Without them; none of this would be possible. Jesus is the only way and always has been.”
Last bullet from my bullpen yesterday. Got cleared by Dr. Meister today. Good day for some reflection. Just wanna say thank you to everyone who’s helped me along this journey to getting back to 100% . Coaches, trainers, staff, family, and everything in between. You all know who… pic.twitter.com/hK6BKmIvYQ
— Justin Steele (@J_Steele21) February 28, 2026
During Steele’s ramp-up in the offseason, Cubs manager Craig Counsell didn’t offer a timeline for the left-hander to join the rotation. He said it wouldn’t be opening day, but it was possible he could join the rotation in the first half of the season.
This was Steele’s second significant elbow surgery. He had his first in 2017, which was a full Tommy John surgery. His surgery last year was a revision to fix the existing ligament. Dr. Meister, who also performed the surgery, has helped pioneer the revision procedure and is one of the top sports surgeons in the game. He also happens to be the team surgeon for the Texas Rangers.
The revision may allow Steele to return a bit sooner than a typical Tommy John surgery, which requires 12 to 18 months to heal. He had his surgery last April, so sometime during the first half of the season could be between 12 to 15 months after the procedure.
Chicago doesn’t have to rush the left-hander as the Cubs have ample depth in the starting rotation. Chicago has seven healthy arms on its starting rotation depth chart, including Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, Edward Cabrera, Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Colin Rea and Javier Assad. Two long relievers — Jordan Wicks and Ben Brown — can fill in to start, too.
Steele went 3-1 with a 4.76 ERA in four starts last season before he suffered the injury. He struck out 21 and walked five in 22.2 innings.
His breakthrough season was in 2023, when he went 16-5 with a 3.06 ERA in 30 starts, with 176 strikeouts and 36 walks in 173.1 innings. He made the National League All-Star team for the first time and finished in the Top 5 in Cy Young voting.
The Cubs’ fifth-round pick in 2014 is 32-22 in 102 games (91 starts) with 517 strikeouts and 155 walks in 506.2 innings.
