{"id":164024,"date":"2026-03-14T12:06:58","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T12:06:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=164024"},"modified":"2026-03-14T12:06:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T12:06:58","slug":"%f0%9f%9a%a8breaking-chicago-cubs-lefty-justin-steele-faces-hitters-for-the-first-time-since-april-elbow-surgery-another-box-to-check-he-says-fans-are-eager-to-see-if-stee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=164024","title":{"rendered":"\ud83d\udea8BREAKING: Chicago Cubs lefty Justin Steele faces hitters for the first time since April elbow surgery\u2014\u201cAnother box to check,\u201d he says. Fans are eager to see if Steele is back to full strength and ready to lead the Cubs\u2019 pitching staff. Could this be the turning point for Chicago\u2019s rotation? \ud83d\udc40\ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47"},"content":{"rendered":"

MESA, Ariz. \u2014 Justin Steele stepped off the back of the mound at Sloan Park, gathered himself with a deep breath and exhaled.<\/p>\n

\"Chicago<\/p>\n

The sequence provided Steele a moment to reset amid the adrenaline of facing hitters again.<\/p>\n

Teammates Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Gavin Hollowell and Jordan Wicks, along with front-office personnel, sat in the stands Thursday to watch Steele face hitters for the first time since undergoing elbow surgery in April. The left-hander threw 19 pitches against Michael Busch and Jonathon Long, recording three strikeouts and generating some ugly swings.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother box to check,\u201d Steele said afterward. \u201cFelt good today, that\u2019s the main thing \u2014 I was throwing strikes, putting the fastball where I wanted to for the most part. Just excited about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photos: Chicago Cubs on photo day at spring training<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy described Thursday as a big milestone step in Steele\u2019s comeback journey. Hottovy was looking for repeatability in Steele\u2019s delivery to make sure his mechanics remain sound. Steele\u2019s fastball showed both the cut and life on the pitch the Cubs are used to seeing from Steele, which was an encouraging sign.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it went as well as he could have wanted it and hoped for it to go,\u201d Hottovy said. \u201cNow it\u2019s just continuing to build off every outing, every live BP and making sure we don\u2019t get too far ahead of ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steele didn\u2019t feel any anxiety in the buildup to facing hitters like he had during his return from his first Tommy John surgery in 2017. He appreciated teammates and coaches showing up to the stadium to watch his live BP. Busch congratulated him after they finished for getting to this point in his recovery.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this one, it\u2019s kind of been smooth sailing as far as the rehab process has been going,\u201d Steele said. \u201cAs soon as I started throwing bullpens, however long ago it was, I was kind of like, \u2018I feel like I could face hitters right now.\u2019 It was a very similar feeling as to what it was before surgery, so there wasn\u2019t really an adjustment period for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

For as good as Steele\u2019s stuff felt Thursday, he\u2019s not looking too far ahead. The Cubs are going to be deliberate in his buildup knowing he will have some form of an innings limit this season. Both sides want to make sure he\u2019s available for playoff baseball and potentially a deep run in October.<\/p>\n

Going forward, Steele will for the most part remain on a typical five-day starter schedule as he continues ramping up. There might be opportunities for Steele to get additional work in the pitching lab or spend time working on stuff in a bullpen session, but otherwise the Cubs are moving forward with Steele getting into his normal routine.<\/p>\n

\"Cubs'<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re obviously very excited with where I\u2019m at and how I\u2019m feeling,\u201d Steele said. \u201cWe\u2019re doing a really good job of keeping a level head throughout this process.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MESA, Ariz. \u2014 Justin Steele stepped off the back of the mound at Sloan Park, gathered himself with a deep breath and exhaled. The sequence provided Steele… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":164076,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-164024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n\ud83d\udea8BREAKING: Chicago Cubs lefty Justin Steele faces hitters for the first time since April elbow surgery\u2014\u201cAnother box to check,\u201d he says. Fans are eager to see if Steele is back to full strength and ready to lead the Cubs\u2019 pitching staff. 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