CHICAGO — The Cubs’ rotation has been a strength this season.

It took a big blow Wednesday morning.

The team announced it is placing left-hander Justin Steele on the 15-day injured list with left elbow tendinitis. It recalled right-hander Ethan Roberts from Triple-A Iowa to take Steele’s active roster spot.

Steele initially felt discomfort in his elbow during his Monday start against the Texas Rangers. The frigid temperatures — it was the coldest game at Wrigley Field in 14 years — made Steele brush off injury concerns during the outing.

“I was talking to [pitching coach] Tommy [Hottovy] and [manager Craig] Counsell throughout the start, and I was like, ‘My arm’s starting to tighten up on me a little bit,’ ” Steele said before Wednesday’s series finale against the Rangers. “I was at the fourth, fifth inning, was just doing stuff in between innings to keep it warm, moving [it] around and stuff.”

The discomfort lingered into Tuesday, and Steele arrived at Wrigley with the intention of doing extra day-after-pitching recovery work. The pain still was there, and the decision was made to place him on the IL.

Steele said the pain was similar to the elbow tendinitis that landed him on the IL in September 2024.

“I would say it’s similar to the previous situations that we encountered with it,” said Steele, who also went on the IL in June 2023 with a left forearm injury.

That history made the decision to shut him down easier — and gives the Cubs optimism that he won’t be out too long.

“We’re going to take the conservative route here,” Counsell said. “He had symptoms of an injury that he experienced last year. For that reason, rather than having him focus on his next start, I think it’s just best that we back off that and make sure he recovers in a really good place. And we’re hoping it’s the minimum and he can be ready to go in a couple of weeks.”

It’s a massive blow to the Cubs’ rotation early in the season. Steele is coming off his best outing of the year – he tossed seven shutout innings against the Rangers on Monday, allowing just three hits and two walks with eight strikeouts.

The rotation has been solid to start the year, especially during this homestand. Cubs starters are 3-0 with a 2.67 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 30.1 innings over the first five games with four quality starts.

The Cubs have been relatively healthy this season, but right-hander Javier Assad began the year on the IL with an oblique strain.

The Cubs likely will move Colin Rea into the rotation — he has pitched 5.1 scoreless innings across three outings. He was signed this offseason as rotation depth and began the year in the bullpen with Ben Brown in the rotation. 

Counsell said the team isn’t necessarily pressed to make a decision on its rotation just now. The Cubs have four off days over the next 16 days, allowing them to keep starters on a regular schedule without committing to a five-man rotation.

The only real time the Cubs would need a fifth starter during that stretch would be Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, when Steele’s turn would be next. But the Cubs could start right-hander Jameson Taillon that day because he’ll be on regular rest with Thursday’s off day.

“We have a tentative plan, and that means [we] don’t have to figure it out yet,” Counsell said. “That spot comes up — we got to talk about Sunday, Monday, essentially.”

Roberts, 27, has pitched 4.1 scoreless innings in three games for the I-Cubs this season.