CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs today activated left-handed pitcher Justin Steele from the paternity list and optioned right-handed pitcher Anderson Espinoza to Triple-A Iowa.
Steele, 27, was placed on the paternity list on July 9. The lefthander is 3-5 with a 4.13 ERA (35 ER/76.1 IP) and a team-high 76 strikeouts in 16 starts for the Cubs this season. He has allowed two-or-fewer runs in five of his last six starts, going 2-0 with a 2.72 ERA (11 ER/36.1 IP) during that stretch.
The six-foot, two-inch Steele made his major league debut in 2021 and is 7-9 with a 4.19 ERA (62 ER/133.1 IP) in 36 career major league games (25 starts). The Lucedale, Miss. native was the Cubs’ fifth round pick in the 2014 MLB First-Year Player Draft and was named an MiLB.com Cubs Organizational All-Star in both 2015 and 2017.
Espinoza, 24, is 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA (3 ER/7.0 IP) in two games out of the bullpen with the Cubs this season. He made his major league debut in game two of a doubleheader on May 30 vs. Milwaukee.
