Jed Hoyer and the Cubs have not approached Justin Steele with an extension offer

The Chicago Cubs and Justin Steele avoided arbitration earlier this month, agreeing to a $6.5 million salary for 2025. That's where any financial talks started and ended, with Steele telling The Athletic (subscription required) this week ,there have been no extension discussions between his camp and the front office.

"Me, personally, I haven’t had any discussions or conversations as far as that stuff goes….It’s something that hasn’t been brought to me from the team or anything. But, I mean, if it’s something that was brought to me, in front of me, I would sit down, look at it obviously and take it into serious consideration and decide what made sense for me and my family at that point ... But to answer your question, no, nothing’s been brought to me."

Steele is under team control for the next three seasons and is set to hit free agency after the 2027 campaign. Last year, Steele showed his breakout 2023 was no fluke, overcoming an early season hamstring injury to post a 3.07 ERA in 24 outings. Dating back to the start of the 2022 season, the left-hander ranks ninth among qualified starters with a 3.10 ERA, finding himself in the company of names like Corbin Burnes, Gerrit Cole and Framber Valdez.

Justin Steele makes a ton of sense as a Cubs extension candidate

Given the lack of major rotation additions this winter - and the tens of millions of dollars in payroll flexibility granted by the Cody Bellinger trade, some have hoped a Steele extension would be a priority for Jed Hoyer and the front office. But, at least so far, that hasn't been the case.

It's not just his numbers that make Steele an appealing extension candidate, either. He's a bulldog on the mound and someone who despises losing and playing poor baseball - qualities every team needs.

His self-stated top priority in 2025 is staying healthy all year long and anchoring the Cubs' starting rotation. If he can do that and Imanaga can match his performance from his rookie campaign, Chicago will have a solid 1-2 punch atop the rotation. But they'll need solid contributions from the rest of the group, especially at the back end of the mix, if this is a group capable of carrying the team to the postseason and competing come October.