The Chicago Cubs are riding high and playing great baseball right now, but they were dealt a blow today with the announcement that Justin Steele has been placed on the IL with left elbow tendonitis. Steele was fantastic in his outing on Monday night when he threw seven scoreless innings against the Texas Rangers while striking out eight. There was nothing during the outing that suggested he was dealing with an injury. It is apparently something that popped up as he recovered from that start. The team announced they have recalled Ethan Roberts from AAA Iowa to take Steele’s place on the roster.

Most people expected the Cubs to add an impact arm in free agency this winter to bolster the rotation. They never did that. Chicago did add Matthew Boyd, who has been really good, throwing 11 scoreless innings across his first two starts. They will need him to continue that hot start with Steele’s absence from the rotation.

The Cubs have a few options to fill in for Steele. Colin Rea, who the Cubs have been using out of the bullpen, made 27 starts for the Milwaukee Brewers last season. It will take some time for him to get stretched out. Brad Keller has also been a starter in the past. They could piggyback those two in the short term. They also have Jordan Wicks in AAA. He’s had some success in the past, but is off to a rough start at Iowa this season with 4.66 ERA in his first two starts.

Steele is 3-1 with a 4.76 ERA so far this season.