Justin Steele’s 2025 season was over almost as soon as it started.

April 7 was like any other start for Steele, who seemed to have finally found his rhythm in a seven-inning, eight-strikeout scoreless outing as the Cubs blanked the Texas Rangers on a frigid spring night at Wrigley Field. Following his fourth start of the year, he had posted a 4.76 ERA over 22.2 innings pitched.

But two days later, some unexpected news came: Steele was headed to the 15-day injured list with left elbow tendinitis — the same injury that shelved him late in the 2024 season. He had felt the tightness in his elbow during his start against the Rangers, but the pain lingered the following day, and the team made the decision to shut him down.

And on April 13, that bad news became worse: It was a season-ending injury for the Cubs’ left-hander, who would need revision surgery and an internal brace on his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL). While it wasn’t the much longer process of Tommy John surgery (a full reconstruction of the UCL), it was still going to keep Steele from doing any throwing at all for several months.

That meant an early predicament for the Cubs, who had to scramble for a new rotation plan without Steele — the blossoming ace who had given them 308 innings, 54 starts and a 3.07 ERA in the prior two seasons combined.

It was a tremendous blow for the Cubs and one that certainly left a lasting impact on how the Cubs’ season played out.

Now six months removed from the day Steele went down, both the Cubs and Steele’s 2025 chapters were ones of perseverance — and while the Cubs motored on to secure both their first playoff berth in five seasons and their first playoff series victory in eight years, Steele was watching it all go down from the dugout with the utmost pride in his team.

“I mean, I spent all offseason working with these guys, working our tails off to get to this point,” Steele told Marquee Sports Network’s Cole Wright, Cliff Floyd and Elise Menaker ahead of Game 3 of the Cubs’ NL Division Series matchup with the Milwaukee Brewers last week. “It’s just exciting to be here and be around it. Obviously, I would love to be out there pitching in these games, but being here, being with the guys, (is the) next best thing.”

The positive news for Steele and the Cubs is that he’s been through this before, and it’s a lot easier this time around.

“In 2017, when I had my first Tommy John (surgery), they pulled the ligament out of my forearm and used that — so that was my new UCL,” Steele said. “I remember relearning how to throw with the new hardware that was in my arm. That was the hardest part — the mental hurdle I had the first time.

“(This time), it’s the same hardware, and it feels the same as five months ago, when I was throwing against the Rangers. So there really hasn’t been a mental hurdle. It’s just been putting my nose down, and just doing the work every day,” Steele said.

Steele never shied away from spending time around Wrigley or documenting his viewing experience as a fan whenever he could this past season. But make no mistake: as much fun as Steele was having in his downtime, he was also putting in all the work to get back to pitching as soon as possible.

“The rehab process has been pretty flawless to this point,” Steele said. “I just started throwing (plyometric balls) this week. So I’ve been ripping plyos into the wall.

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— Justin Steele (@J_Steele21) October 8, 2025

“My arm feels great. I was supposed to keep it under 60 miles an hour — I got 64 on accident,” he said with a smile. “So, it’s going great.”

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