MILWAUKEE — Justin Steele envisioned himself being part of the pitching staff that ended the Chicago Cubs’ postseason drought and brought October baseball back to Wrigley Field.

Steele expressed that desire at the start of every spring training the previous three years and the subsequent end of the campaign when the Cubs had fallen short. His 2025 season, though, was over before most of the Cubs’ run to the playoffs could be written. Season-ending elbow surgery cut his year short in April, just four starts in.

The rehab process kept Steele in Arizona close to the team’s complex in Mesa for most of the summer. He rejoined the team for the postseason and has been a fixture in the dugout during their journey to Game 5 of the National League Division Series on Saturday night at American

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