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Ahead of their final game of the regular season, a game that now holds no significance for the Chicago Cubs' playoff seeding, the team has recalled starting pitcher Braxton Garrett and optioned Gavin Hollowell to the Arizona Complex League.
Hollowell was reinstated from the IL ahead of this weekend's series against the Boston Red Sox, and the expectation should be for Garrett to work multiple innings on Sunday. Garrett has been traveling with the team as part of their taxi squad, and with the result of Sunday's game no longer having an impact on the NL Wild Card seeding for the Cubs, he likely will be used to preserve pitchers expected to have a role against the San Diego Padres later this week.
Cubs push back Justin Steele's return to 2027 with latest roster move
The roster move also likely confirms that Justin Steele's return to the Cubs will not be taking place until the start of the 2027 season. There had been some hope that Steele could factor into the Cubs' pitching plans against the Red Sox, but plans were likely altered once the teams played a doubleheader on Friday.
While the Cubs had been encouraged by Steele's results in his last minor-league rehab appearances, the impression from their messaging was that he was never going to be a major contributor to the team's playoff run. Earlier this week, Jed Hoyer, if you read between the lines, all but indicated that the Cubs were moving forward without Steele being an equation for the playoff roster.
In this instance, what likely worked against Steele was the fact that he was not ont he Cubs' 40-man roster entering the weekend. That is why when the Cubs designated Antoine Kelly for assignment on Saturday after claiming Julian Aguiar off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds, it was a tell that the plans for Steele may have shifted to 2027.
Outside of the moral victory of Steele pitching in a regular-season game for the Cubs, there was little to gain from making an appearance on Sunday. Steele having a healthy offseason and ready for the start of the 2027 season is far more important than him pitching a couple of innings in a game of no consequence. The risk, in this case, outweighs the reality of much the Cubs will need a healthy Steele next season.
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