Justin Steele's rehab outing offers hope he can be lifeline Cubs bullpen desperately needs

A perfect storm may be developing. It's become clear that the Chicago Cubs have a problem in their bullpen, and it will need to be addressed if the Cubs are going to have a sustainable run during the playoffs. Justin Steele started his minor-league rehab assignment on Wednesday, and while the key will be how he feels today, it was a glimmer of hope that he could help the big-league pitching staff before the end of the regular season.

Steele pitched into the second inning, striking out two while giving up one run on four hits. His fastball topped out at just over 90 MPH, and his slider around 89 MPH. Assuming there's no setback reported before his next appearance, it was an early sign that perhaps there is a scenario where Steele is ready to help the Cubs before the start of October.

Regardless of anything else, the fact that Steele pitched in a professional game at any level this season is a success. Obviously, it wasn't the original timeline, but a flexor strain at the end of April altered the plan. It's why the Cubs are taking Steele's recovery one step at a time, and are simply happy to see him pitching in games of consequence.

Justin Steele's encouraging rehab outing could solve looming Cubs bullpen problem

That said, the Cubs are also aware of the reality of where they are in the season. They don't have the space to bring up Steele back as a form of furthering his recovery at the big-league level. In most cases, as Craig Counsell admitted on Tuesday, it's about a 30-day rehab assignment for pitchers recovering from what Steele has gone through over the past year. Not that it matters, but MLB rules permit teams to extend the minor-league rehab assignment to 60 days for pitchers recovering from UCL surgery.

Regardless, there's an awareness from the Cubs that Steele's timeline could be accelerated if he is stacking together successful outings during his rehab assignment.

The door is certainly open to Steele having a role of significance in the Cubs bullpen before the playoffs. As a whole, the Cubs will need a healthy Jacob Webb and an effective Daniel Palencia if they have any plans of a deep playoff run. But as building playoff pitching staffs that include multiple innings capable of pitching more than one inning per appearance, a returning Steele could check that box.

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