Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: Chicago Cubs ace Justin Steele suffers hamstring injury in Opening Day loss; likely headed to IL

Originally posted on ChiCitySports | By Brandon Morneault | Last updated 3/29/24

WATCH: Chicago Cubs likely lose pitcher Justin Steele for unknown amount of time due to hamstring injury

Opening day for Major League Baseball is finally here. The league will be an interesting one this year as the NL Central appears to be wide open, and the Chicago Cubs will look to take full advantage of the opportunity. After an offseason full of questions, we will finally be able to see the team in action.

It was a tough start for the Cubs yesterday as they lost their first game to the defending World Series Champion Texas Rangers, 4-3, in an extra innings affair. The bats got off to a slow start in the opener but Christopher Morel and Cody Bellinger both looked good in the debut.

The loss was tough, but the harder pill to swallow will be the hamstring injury that Chicago Cubs ace Justin Steele suffered in the 5th inning. Steele was dealing before the injury occurred, striking out 6 batters and allowing only 1 run on 3 hits. The timetable for his return is still unknown at this time.

Awful….

Hoping Justin Steele’s injury isn’t serious. pic.twitter.com/4aG30F8s84

— Barstool Baseball (@StoolBaseball) March 29, 2024

Steele is coming off of his best season as a pro, finishing 5th in the NL Cy Young voting in 2023. Steele was 16-5 last year while sporting a 3.06 ERA, and will look to improve on it in this upcoming campaign. Every year Steele has been in the bigs, he has improved, so hopefully this won’t be a damper on his up and coming career.

The Chicago Cubs starting rotation depth will be tested early, as Steele is likely to hit the IL for a decent amount of time. The young Jordan Wicks will get a shot to prove how good he can be after his strong end to the 2023 season last year.

This article first appeared on ChiCitySports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: