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The promotion of top pitching prospect Ben Brown served as an indication that the Chicago Cubs were going to be without Justin Steele for some time.
It would have been unlikely that the Cubs were going to start Brown's service time clock if he was just making a spot start or two.
Ahead of the Cubs' second game of the season against the Texas Rangers on Saturday night, Craig Counsell provided a general timeline for how long the team will be without their Opening Day starter.
Counsell says it's a Grade 1 left hamstring strain for Justin Steele and he expects him to miss all of April. Trainers want him to be walking without a limp before they put a plan in place. But Counsell says he feels this is good news and exprfts him back some time in May.
— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) March 30, 2024
Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Justin Steele to be sidelined for at least one month
The typical recovery time for a Grade 1 hamstring is approximately 4-6 weeks. Combining this with the update provided by Counsell, it would seem the best-case scenario is for Steele to be back during the first week of May. However, factoring in a likely rehab assignment, Steele likely will not be back on the Major League mound until mid-May.
While there is no great time for the ace of a pitching staff to go down with a hamstring injury, if it is going to happen, it rather be at the start of the season as opposed to during the second half when the team is making a push for the post-season.
Jed Hoyer has not been shy about his confidence in the Cubs' pitching depth. That depth will certainly be tested with Steele expected to be sidelined for the next month and Jameson Taillon not returning until closer to the end of April.
For the next month, the Cubs will have a rotation that consists of Brown, Kyle Hendricks, Shota Imanaga, Jordan Wicks, and Javier Assad. In other words, Hoyer will either be validated in his avoidance of adding a top-of-the-rotation arm this offseason or this will be a missed opportunity like failing to address the bullpen last season.