Justin Steele’s best rehab outing yet changed the conversation from whether he can pitch again this season to whether the Cubs can trust him in October. Many baseball analysts are predicting Steele will make the playoff roster if he completes at least one successful major-league appearance before the regular season ends, but he will be used exclusively as a reliever.
Steele made a compelling final argument for consideration Friday with Triple-A Iowa. The left-hander pitched two scoreless innings, did not allow a hit and struck out five while issuing one walk. After walking the opening batter, he retired six consecutive hitters. His slider generated four swings and misses, and his fastball topped out at 91.6 mph during what was easily the sharpest appearance of his rehabilitation assignment.
The quality of the performance was encouraging, but Steele’s next step should not be an automatic activation. He is scheduled to meet with the Cubs on Tuesday, when the organization will evaluate his recovery, stuff and potential role. Manager Craig Counsell has acknowledged that several factors remain under consideration, including the possibility of placing Steele on the taxi squad rather than immediately adding him to the active roster.
Before making a postseason decision, the Cubs need to see Steele face major-league hitters. He has not appeared in a major-league game since April 7, 2025, and later underwent season-ending elbow surgery. His 2026 comeback was subsequently delayed by a flexor strain, meaning Friday’s performance came after an extraordinarily long absence from meaningful major-league competition. Two excellent innings against Triple-A hitters cannot completely answer questions about his command, recovery and ability to pitch on consecutive or near-consecutive days.
The ideal plan would be to activate Steele during the final week and give him two major-league appearances. The first could be a controlled inning against the bottom or middle of an opposing lineup. If he recovers properly, the second should test him for four to six outs. That would tell the Cubs more than another minor-league appearance, especially because Iowa’s schedule has ended and Chicago has only a handful of regular-season games remaining.
If Steele passes those tests, he should make the playoff roster. Postseason eligibility is not an obstacle because players who were on the 60-day injured list entering September are eligible. The Cubs can select a different 26-player roster before every postseason series, giving them the flexibility to carry Steele in one round and reconsider the decision before the next.
There is still considerable risk. Steele’s fastball averaged only 90.2 mph in his latest outing, and his first three rehab appearances produced six runs, four earned, over 5 2/3 innings. More importantly, postseason rosters permit a maximum of 13 pitchers, and clubs sometimes carry fewer during a best-of-three Wild Card Series because they do not need a full five-man rotation.
Steele cannot receive a roster spot simply because of his history or reputation. He must demonstrate that his current stuff gives the Cubs a better chance to record important outs than one of their established relievers.
His potential upside makes that gamble worthwhile. Steele provides a different look from the Cubs’ right-handed bullpen options, and his slider can be a legitimate weapon against hitters on either side of the plate. Chicago already has left-handers Ryan Rolison and Caleb Thielbar in the bullpen, but their presence should not automatically block Steele. The decision should revolve around who is most capable of navigating a difficult part of the lineup rather than satisfying a traditional left-right roster formula.
What Steele will not be is a postseason starter. That decision has effectively already been made. Steele acknowledged earlier in his rehabilitation that there was not enough time to build up the necessary workload and that any contribution this season would have to come from the bullpen. His four rehab outings have been limited to approximately two innings apiece, while Chicago currently has Kevin Gausman, Clay Holmes, Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga and David Peterson available as starting options.
Even an abbreviated opener assignment would be unnecessarily aggressive. Asking Steele to start after nearly 18 months away would create additional preparation and workload questions without providing a clear competitive advantage. His most logical postseason job is as a flexible reliever who can enter during the middle innings, neutralize a difficult group of left-handed hitters or bridge the game when a starter exits early.
Here’s the thing, folks: The Cubs should not expect Steele to immediately become their primary setup man or rescue an unstable bullpen. They should give him a narrowly defined role and expand it only if his performance warrants more responsibility. In the Wild Card round, that might mean one inning against a favorable section of the batting order. In a longer series, he could become a two-inning option after a short start.
Wit that . . . Steele’s latest outing put him on the edge of the postseason roster, but the final decision should depend on what happens against major-league competition. If his slider remains sharp, his command holds and his arm responds normally, he should be included. He has neither the workload nor the time to start, but as a carefully managed reliever, Steele could give the Cubs a high-upside weapon they did not expect to have when September began.
If you cannot play with them, then root for them!