When a team loses a starting pitcher for the season, it’s never easy to fill that gap, especially when that player is a mainstay in the rotation. The Chicago Cubs are dealing with that headache right now, as they figure out how to move forward without left-hander Justin Steele, who will miss the remainder of the 2025 season to undergo reconstructive elbow surgery.
Steele was one of the team’s frontline starters and has been one of the most consistent starters in baseball over the past several seasons. Since becoming a full-time starter in 2022, he has a 3.10 ERA, which ranks ninth in MLB in that span.
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How do you replace an All-Star starting pitcher this early in the MLB season?
Most would say you look to the trade market, but making a move for starter is easier said than done.
The biggest target for any team this season would be former NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara, who is likely to be moved by this year’s trade deadline. But don’t expect the Miami Marlins to have a quick trigger finger this year like they did last season, when they dealt Luis Arraez in May.
Not only is Alcántara much more valuable than Arraez was, but also given the demand for starting pitching among teams looking to compete for the postseason — including the Cubs, New York Mets and Baltimore Orioles — there’s no reason for Miami to rush.
Justin Steele started four games for the Cubs before an elbow injury sidelined him for the season. (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images)
(Matt Dirksen via Getty Images)
In the meantime, the Cubs’ rotation solutions will have to be found internally, at least until the trade market starts to take shape. So what options does Chicago have?
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The team’s healthy starters include ace Shota Imanaga, veteran right-handers Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd, and second-year right-hander Ben Brown. As a team, the Cubs could be in a much worse position than they currently are. They still have one of the best arms in baseball in Imanaga, and Taillon and Boyd are viable options in the middle of the rotation.
But for a team that has postseason aspirations, is this enough? Probably not.
Right-hander Javier Assad was a revelation for the Cubs in 2024, going 7-6 with a respectable 3.73 ERA in 29 starts. Assad, who started the season on the IL and hasn’t pitched since spring training due to a moderate oblique strain, will begin a rehab assignment this week. If things go well, he would be the obvious choice to slide back into the rotation, filling the void for the time being.
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Left-hander Jordan Wicks will likely also get another shot for the Cubs this season. Wicks, the Cubs’ 2021 first-round draft pick, hasn’t been able to grab a foothold in the rotation despite getting a few opportunities, mostly due to injuries. Still, given that he’s one of the team’s arms with big-league experience, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him at Wrigley Field in the near future.
The dark horse option to spend some time in Chicago’s rotation this summer would be 2023 first-round pick Cade Horton. He is currently pitching at Triple-A Iowa, with electric stuff and a 1.23 ERA so far. If the Cubs encounter another need outside of Steele’s absence, Horton could be a viable option down the road, even if Assad returns to the rotation or the Cubs make a move via trade.
For a team with its sights set on the postseason, having as many dynamic arms as possible is crucial. Chicago’s blueprint could be similar to what the Detroit Tigers did last season with their top pitching prospect, Jackson Jobe, en route to the playoffs.
Offensively, the 11-8 Cubs have one of the best lineups in baseball, and they’re giving their pitching plenty of run support with the most runs scored in all of baseball. But the difference between reaching the postseason and being on the outside looking in might be plugging the leak following Steele’s injury. The good news for Chicago is that it’s early, and there’s time for the team to evaluate all its options, both internally and on the trade market.
