It’s been a strange summer for Justin Steele, honestly. The 30-year-old Chicago Cubs ace entered this season looking like the pillar for the team, with a 3.30 career ERA and a rep for grinding through the biggest games. However, who knew, an elbow could change the course of his season?

A flexor tendon injury sent Steele under the knife, and that was it for him. Chicago had to move on without their dependable lefty. And now, when Steele’s teammates are battling through the second leg of the season, he is busy sweating through the rehab sessions.

Last time, he mentioned to Foul Territory, “It’s going great. Every day I show up, I just tell them I’m like another week ahead of schedule. So at this point, I’m like four weeks ahead of schedule. So maybe a playoff push or something.” But now seems like even with his focus on getting back, Steele’s mind has wandered to something different- football!

Yes, in a post that felt like a fan letter, Steele shared on Twitter a vision he had of Alabama football, “back on top.” He could feel it and smell it almost. But mostly he felt a wave of nostalgia hit him, “Seeing all the Katrina Documentary stuff has me remembering that first game back in the dome… never been a team to grace the earth that could have walked into that building and won a football game that day. Impossible. Who Dat baby, I’m getting more and more fired up with every morning that passes. Can’t contain my excitement… (obviously).” Well, as long as his mental space is clear and he is recovering well, anything that rocks the boat.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs are not doing splendidly. They lost to the Cardinals, and that dropped them to 67-50, and they are six games back of the Brewers in the NL Central. Pete Crow Armstrong has swiped his 30th, and he joined Ryne Sandberg in the record books with that. But for now, the bigger storyline seems to be the thin rotation. Now, since Steele’s injury, the front office has struggled with getting reinforcements. The trade for Michael Soroka died down fast. And just two innings in, he ended up on the injured list. The bats sure are talented, but have gone cold, and with the Brewers catching fire, the Cubs’ window for error is growing narrow by the day.

Chicago Cubs stumble again as pressure mounts on their ace.

For sure, the Cubs would want to put the series against their division rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, under the rug and forget it happened. They dropped two of the three, and that uneasy and queasy feeling has come rushing back. Because this was the year that Chicago turned the tables, instead, things have been more “wild card contender” at best. Plus, the trade deadline came and went, and they didn’t make any big moves. They needed an ace, but they got Soraka, who is injured, and now the weight of the rotation is on one player.

The name in question is Shota Imanaga. Kerry Miller of the Bleacher Report says, “Not only is Imanaga on the short list of Cubs pitchers worth trusting as they battle for the division lead, but Chicago needs to decide this offseason whether it wants to lock Imanaga in through 2028 on a three-year, $57M deal.” Last season, the Japanese player was a complete sensation.

He had stormed to the scene, earned an All-Star nod, and went 15-3 with a 2.91 ERA. Insane, right? This season, though, things have not gone the same way. His record stands at 8-5 with a 3.19 ERA. But even then, he is still the most dependable arm that the Chicago Cubs have. That being said, there are some warning signs, like his FIP has climbing to 4.47, and his strikeouts per nine are down from 9.0 to 7.4.

Now with October in sight and a contract decision coming, this could define what Imanaga’s future in Chicago looks like. If he can pitch like last season, it’s hard to see Chicago letting him go.