CHICAGO -- Cubs lefty Justin Steele was scratched from his scheduled start on Tuesday with elbow soreness but is avoiding the injured list for now, according to manager Craig Counsell.
Steele, 29, is 5-5 with a 3.09 ERA this season as one of the Cubs' top-of-the rotation arms. Steele had an MRI on Tuesday morning which showed positive signs though he's not symptom free. He's been dealing with the discomfort since a bullpen session in Washington last week.
"Still a little bit tight," Steele said on Tuesday afternoon. "Was happy with the news. We're getting some more opinions on it then we'll go from there."
The Cubs won't place Steele on the IL just yet, hoping that he might be able to pitch over the next 5-6 days. But that could change as the team takes a closer look at his tests.
"So far, so good," Counsell said. "Just the way Justin feels we're still in a pretty good place...He has symptoms. They're not bad, but enough to prevent him from pitching [Tuesday]."
However even a short-term loss of Steele could be a blow to the Cubs, who have climbed back into the National League wild-card race. Monday's loss to the Pirates didn't help their cause.
Chicago led 3-0 in the eighth after starter Jameson Taillon pitched seven scoreless innings, but reliever Jorge Lopez gave up two home runs to propel the Pirates to the win while snapping Chicago's six-game winning streak. It dropped it 3½ games behind the Atlanta Braves in the wild-card chase. The Braves were idle on Monday.
Steele has emerged as one of the better lefties in the National League after a breakout season in 2023. He spent a month on the injured list earlier this year after hurting his hamstring on Opening Day. The Cubs are hoping it won't be as long this time around, as elbow injuries aren't normally measured in days as much as weeks -- or longer.
Taillon tried to find the positive in the day.
"We just got [Jordan] Wicks back [from injury] which is awesome," Taillon said after Monday's loss. "We'll continue to keep going and step up."
Righty Kyle Hendricks started in Steele's place on Tuesday, facing Pirates rookie Paul Skenes.