MESA, Ariz. – Cubs left-hander Justin Steele was scheduled to start Thursday evening against the Royals, but when he came down with what the team called flu-like symptoms, the Cubs decided to scratch him from the starting lineup. Right-hander Ben Brown got the start instead.
The decision came down to both allowing Steele to recover and keeping him from spreading the illness to his teammates, according to bench coach Ryan Flaherty.
“It shouldn’t change his outcome for his status in Japan, for sure,” Flaherty said.
Steele is expected to pitch once more before the team leaves for Tokyo next Tuesday, bringing his total to three spring starts. He built up to about 55 pitches his last start, between the game and a bullpen session afterwards.
Because the Tokyo Series pushes up the start to the regular season, the Cubs weren’t expecting their starters to be fully stretched out for the two-game set. Steele is scheduled to pitch Game 2, on March 19.
Spring breakout roster announced
Cubs prospects are playing in two “Spring Breakout” games while the major-league team is in Japan. The first is against the Dodgers’ prospects at Camelback Ranch on March 13 and the second against the Angels’ prospects at Sloan Park on March 15.
Major League Baseball announced the rosters on Thursday, and the Cubs’ squad for the first game is headlined by three Top-100 prospects, as ranked by MLB Pipeline: right-hander Cade Horton (No. 51), catcher Moises Ballasteros (No. 68) and infielder James Triantos (No. 72).
Injury update
On Saturday, right-hander Javier Assad is scheduled to throw his first bullpen since straining his left oblique before the official start of spring training. The Cubs had already ruled him out for the beginning of the season.