Challenging days are ahead for the Cubs and White Sox as they approach the last few weeks before the All-Star break.
The Cubs salvaged a series win over the Colorado Rockies as they enter a difficult stretch to close out June. They welcome the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday to finish the homestand before heading on a seven-game trip against the New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers — the latter giving them a chance to chip away at their 7½-game deficit behind the division leader.
After a rough couple of days at Yankee Stadium to start their six-game trip, the Sox head to Detroit for a three-game series against the Tigers, one of baseball’s biggest disappointments. They return home Monday for their first series against the Cleveland Guardians, still considered the team to beat in the American League Central.
Every Friday during the regular season, Tribune baseball writers will provide an update on what happened — and what’s ahead — for the Cubs and White Sox.
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Justin Steele to start throwing progression
Left-hander Justin Steele still firmly believes he will pitch for the Cubs this season.
The path back from April 2025 elbow surgery hit a snag when he was diagnosed with a flexor tendon strain in late April that shut him down for weeks. After completing plyo-ball work this week, Steele will begin his throwing progression Monday.
He flew in from Arizona and joined the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Tuesday as he nears the next step in his rehab. Steele will spend the next three weeks or so around the team.
“You spend so much time during the rehab process behind closed doors, working your tail off to get back to games, and to get so close to getting back — I was pretty close to getting on a rehab assignment — and have to hit the brakes and reassess things, it was obviously tough,” Steele said. “But it’s just part of the road, part of the journey, and keep your head high and stay positive in those situations and just keep it one day at a time.
“The competitor in me watching the guys grind the season out, and I’m sitting home doing what I can to get back, it’s frustrating and I just want to compete. It’s the competitor in me. I just want to pitch.”
Steele can’t afford any more setbacks when he resumes throwing if he wants to pitch this season, as the calendar would quickly start to work against him. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer described his outlook on Steele making an impact for the Cubs this season as “hopeful — optimism might be strong.”
“He’s had some setbacks, but the hope is that he can avoid setbacks and he can help us later in the season,” Hoyer said Tuesday. “And not only the hope for this season, but also going into the offseason, it’d be nice to see him out there and pitching healthy, just in terms of roster planning for next year.”
The Cubs desperately need their starting pitchers to get healthy. The banged-up group ranks 27th in ERA and 25th in fWAR.
Left-hander Matthew Boyd should be the first one off the injured list. He is scheduled to make a rehab start Saturday after shoulder soreness thwarted him from returning over the weekend in San Francisco. Boyd has been limited to five starts this season and hasn’t pitched since May 3 because of a meniscectomy in his left knee.
Right-hander Jameson Taillon (left hamstring strain) told the Tribune on Wednesday that he played catch pregame on flat ground while using his stride for the first time since he landed on the IL on June 8. Taillon hopes to use this time off as a total body tuneup to focus on his mechanics and pitch selection so when he returns to the rotation, he’s in the best position to help.
“Since I’ve been here, I’ve taken pride in being available and pitching, even when I don’t feel my best,” Taillon said. “I like to push through things, and I feel like I can help the team in that way. This is one where it just unfortunately was out of my hands (with a Grade 2 strain). I feel like I do everything in my power to stay healthy. I do my routine and my process, I take care of my stuff in the weight room, so I was frustrated about all that.
“But at the same time, got to find a positive — it’s an opportunity to fix some things and come back stronger.”
Mike Vasil’s magic wand in need of a tuneup?
White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami reacts as teammate Mike Vasil waves a magic wand over him in the dugout before a game against the Twins on May 28, 2026, at Rate Field. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)
Sox reliever Mike Vasil was interviewed this week by a Japanese reporter at Yankee Stadium, even though he’s not expected to pitch again in 2026 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
He has been rehabbing before games, but that’s not the reason he’s a sought-after player by the Japanese media.
Vasil has become a popular figure in Japan because of his magic wand, which he frequently waves in the dugout for good luck. Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami has become associated with the wand, and Vasil enjoys giving the Japanese media something to write about, especially with Murakami sidelined.
Is he tiring of all the attention?
“No, I guess it’s my entire life now at this point,” Vasil said with a laugh. “I might as well glide fully into it.”
Vasil’s family is enjoying the show.
“They know how hard it is for me not to pitch,” he said. “They’re just happy with the fact I’m with the team and we’re winning and having a blast.”
Some Sox players have worn magic wand T-shirts. Can Vasil capitalize off the wand?
“Every time I wake up in the morning, I wonder if there is some kind of money that can be made from it,” he said. “But it’s all for the fun of the team, the fun of the game, so I’m OK with that.”
Maybe the team can put its logo on a wand and sell it in the White Sox team store. No charge for that idea, Brooks Boyer.
Number of the week: 10
Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a leadoff home run in consecutive games Monday and Tuesday, the 10th time (eighth player) a Cub has done that, according to team historian Ed Hartig. Crow-Armstrong also joined Alfonso Soriano (May 2008) as the only Cubs to hit three leadoff home runs in a four-game span.
Week ahead: Cubs
Cubs pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins throws in the bullpen area during spring training at Sloan Park on Feb. 17, 2026 in Mesa, Ariz. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Friday: vs. Blue Jays, 1:20 p.m., Marquee
Saturday: vs. Blue Jays, 1:20 p.m., Marquee
Sunday: vs. Blue Jays, 1:20 p.m., Marquee
Monday: at Mets, 6:10 p.m., Marquee
Tuesday: at Mets, 6:10 p.m., Marquee
Wednesday: at Mets, 6:10 p.m., Marquee
Thursday: at Mets, 6:10 p.m., Marquee
Top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins returned to game action for the first time in nearly 2½ months Monday, an important step in his return from right elbow inflammation.
Wiggins, 24, gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits in two innings for the Cubs’ Arizona Complex League team. He walked one batter and struck out two in his first start since April 4 at Triple-A Iowa.
“There’s a real buildup, it’s hard to rush that,” Hoyer said. “You’re just going to add to another injury if you rush those processes. Everyone wants the instant gratification of, oh, he’s back in some role, but you have to let that process happen.
“In-season pitching injuries are really hard to come back from in a short time frame, and we have a number of guys that had to go through a rest phase. Hopefully we’ll get some of those guys back later, but it’s slow.”
Wiggins, a 2023 second-round pick, came into big-league camp in spring training on track to help the Cubs in some capacity this year. With the injuries they’ve endured in the rotation, it’s not unreasonable to think he might have received a big-league look at this point.
Ethan Conrad, last year’s first-round pick, appears to be finally making progress too.
Conrad, who turns 22 next month, has yet to make his professional debut. The outfielder has been slowed by a back issue since spring training, but Hoyer said Conrad hopefully will start working his way into games by the end of June.
“It sounds like he’s progressing well,” Hoyer said “And hopefully in a perfect world he has a healthy second half and that can really kick off his minor-league career.”
Week ahead: White Sox
White Sox shortstop Colson Montgomery loses control of a ball hit against the Yankees in the fifth inning Wednesday, June 17, 2026, in New York. (Frank Franklin II/AP)
Friday: at Tigers, 5:40 p.m., CHSN
Saturday: at Tigers, 12:10 p.m., CHSN
Sunday: at Tigers, 12:40 p.m., CHSN
Monday: vs. Guardians, 6:40 p.m., CHSN
Tuesday: vs. Guardians, 6:40 p.m., CHSN
Wednesday: vs. Guardians, 1:10 p.m., CHSN
Thursday: off
This is the struggling Tigers’ best chance to get back into the division race. Two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal on Friday makes his second start since undergoing innovative NanoNeedle surgery on his left elbow to quicken his rehab. Future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander, 43, gets the ball Sunday in his first start in Detroit as a Tiger since he was traded to Houston Astros in 2017.
The Sox had a 14-22 road record heading into Thursday’s finale at Yankee Stadium, having lost 12 of their last 16 road games. They haven’t won a road series since taking two of three from the San Diego Padres on May 1-3, and Sox pitchers had compiled an 8.12 ERA in their last 10 road games heading into Thursday, making it tough on the offense to stay in games.
After the weekend series in Detroit, they return for a six-game homestand against the Guardians and Kansas City Royals, hoping to take advantage of the renewed fan energy at Rate Field. The Sox are 24-12 at home, in contrast to their recent road woes.
“I think we’ve played all right on the road,” manager Will Venable argued after Wednesday’s 10-5 loss to the Yankees. “It’s tough to come into some of these places and battle some of these teams. Obviously at home we have a special environment where the guys respond. We’ve played exceptionally well at home.
“But as far as characterizing us as a team that’s struggling on the road, I wouldn’t necessarily say that. You run up against some tough matchups and we haven’t played our best games, but there is certainly something special at home and we feel good about it. We’ve just got to find ways on the road.”
The Guardians are without star third baseman José Ramírez, who was on his way to becoming the ninth member of the 300-300 club (home runs and steals). Ramírez, a Sox killer for years, is recovering from surgery for a broken left hand.
What we’re reading today
Quotable
“All these guys are still going all out. You saw that (Tuesday) with Chase (Meidroth) laying out for a ball in the ninth when we were down by a lot. That’s just what we do. We grind, no matter what the score is.” — Sox starter Anthony Kay on Everson Pereira crashing into the left-field wall Wednesday at Yankee Stadium to make a sensational catch with the Sox down by seven runs