Justin Steele contract extension may not be a priority for the Chicago Cubs

With Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Justin Steele among the arbitration-eligible players on the team's roster this offseason, conventional wisdom suggests that Steele and the Cubs may engage in contract extension talks this offseason.

It would be similar to the approach the Cubs took with Nico Hoerner prior to the 2023 season. The Cubs inked Hoerner to a three-year contract extension, buying out his arbitration-eligible seasons.

A potential Steele extension would need to be for at least three years, buying his remaining arbitration seasons, but in order to make the idea of an extension appealing to Steele, the offer would likely need to include added years of security.

The idea of a Steele contract extension was mentioned on the latest episode of Northside Territory, hosted by The Athletic's Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney. Both were in agreement that it would likely be a five-year deal and there likely would be openness from Steele's side in a potential idea but pushed back on how motivated the Cubs would be to make a deal.

The Cubs may not be inclined to talk a new contract with Justin Steele.

The biggest point of contention they had, from the Cubs' side, is that they already have Steele under control through the 2027 season. Adding that with the fact that the Cubs have several pitching prospects making their way to the Major League level and extending Steele at this point in time doesn't neccessarily match with the front office's ideologies.

The guess here is the idea of a Steele extension is tabled by the Cubs until Spring Training. The reason for that is that the Cubs are expected to be in the market for an established starting pitcher this offseason. Under this scenario, let's assume that starting pitcher is either Corbin Burnes or Max Fried. Either of those pitchers would require a lucrative long-term commitment. With Shota Imanaga also under contract beyond 2025, the idea of the Cubs extending Steele doesn't carry much water if their big offseason move is adding a starting pitcher.