CHICAGO -- Cubs left-hander Justin Steele alerted manager Craig Counsell and pitching coach Tommy Hottovy that he was experiencing some elbow tightness during his outing against the Rangers on Monday night at Wrigley Field. Given the cold conditions, it was difficult to assess the exact nature of what the pitcher was feeling.
¡°He said he felt good going out there,¡± Counsell said before Wednesday's 6-2 loss to the Rangers. ¡°I think he himself was a little confused: ¡®Is it the cold or is it my elbow?¡¯¡±
Prior to Wednesday afternoon¡¯s game against the Rangers, the Cubs made the decision to place Steele on the 15-day injured list when the issue persisted into his recovery work on Tuesday. The team described the setback as left elbow tendinitis, making it a similar injury to the one the lefty dealt with down the stretch a year ago.
Given Steele¡¯s history with the injury -- the starter was sidelined from Aug. 28-Sept. 17 last season before being activated and finishing strong ahead of his offseason -- Counsell said the ballclub opted to take a cautious approach. Chicago also benefits from having a handful of off-days on the schedule over the next few weeks.
Steele is scheduled to undergo an MRI exam on his left elbow on Thursday to gather more information.
¡°We¡¯re going to take the conservative route here,¡± Counsell said. ¡°He had symptoms of an injury that he experienced last year. For that reason, rather than having him focus on his next start, I think it¡¯s just best that we back off that and make sure he recovers in a really good place.
¡°We¡¯re hoping it¡¯s the minimum [amount of days on the IL] and he can be ready to go in a couple weeks.¡±
Counsell said the Cubs have a ¡°tentative plan¡± for how they will approach the rotation, noting that Sunday¡¯s game against the Dodgers and Monday¡¯s game against the Padres are where the decision on a fifth starter rests. The team can see how the next handful of games go before making that call.
Lefty Matthew Boyd is slated to start on Friday, followed by righty Ben Brown on Saturday. Righty Jameson Taillon could follow on Sunday, but it is possible the Cubs might elect to give him an extra day off. That means the team would also be weighing whether lefty Shota Imanaga would take his next turn on Monday or Tuesday against the Padres.
Imanaga allowed five runs in five innings against the Rangers on Wednesday, logging 76 pitches in his latest outing.
¡°I think we¡¯re in a position to just keep everybody kind of on good rest,¡± Counsell said. ¡°I don¡¯t think we need to push anybody right now. I think that¡¯s how we¡¯ll think about it.¡±
Right-hander Colin Rea is currently in the bullpen, but he would be a top alternative to make a spot start for the North Siders. If Chicago wanted to look to Triple-A Iowa, the most logical choice on the 40-man roster would be lefty Jordan Wicks.
The Cubs have a scheduled off-day on Thursday before their six-game swing through L.A. and San Diego, followed by another day off on April 17. There are also upcoming off-days on April 21, April 24 and April 28. Steele is eligible to come off the IL on April 23, at the earliest.
Steele is hoping to be back in the mix as soon as possible.
¡°Yeah, I would say I¡¯m leaning that way,¡± Steele said on Wednesday morning. ¡°I was coming in yesterday prepared to kind of go about the normal rotation, normal standard in-between-start stuff. Now, we¡¯ll, I guess, be able to figure out exactly what it is and attack it.¡±
Steele described his reaction to the situation as ¡°just frustration,¡± especially given his annual goal of being available for around 30 starts. Through his first four turns in the rotation this season, the lefty went 3-1 with a 4.76 ERA, striking out 21 and walking five in 22 2/3 innings for the National League Central-leading Cubs.
Monday¡¯s game against Texas had a first-pitch temperature of 34 degrees, making it one of the coldest games in Wrigley Field¡¯s history. Both Counsell and Steele noted that he began to feel discomfort around the fifth inning, but he remained in the game and pieced together seven scoreless frames in the 7-0 win.
According to Steele, the tightness did not escalate to a point he felt he needed to stop.
¡°I was wanting to continue to pitch,¡± Steele said. ¡°I felt good. I felt like I was executing pitches, so I wanted to keep going.¡±