Cubs' Justin Steele still expected to be ready for Japan after missing latest start

Less than a week before the Chicago Cubs are set to go wheels up for Japan, it's less than ideal to see your ace scratched from a start. But that's what happened to Justin Steele on Thursday after the left-hander experienced some flu-like symptoms that prevented him from taking the ball.

The good news is the team expects Steele to get back to work this weekend and to be at 100 percent for the Tokyo Series. In his stead, right-hander Ben Brown got the start against the Kansas City Royals, who he dominated for three innings before running into trouble in the fourth.

Brown pitched 3 2/3 innings, allowing three earned on five hits with five strikeouts. He looked nasty at times, but then the Royals strung it all together against him to chase him before he could get through four frames. The right-hander is in the mix for the final spot in the rotation, opened by Javier Assad opening the year on the IL, but it doesn't appear the Cubs are close to naming his replacement.

Cubs, Justin Steele looking for an injury-free, effective 2025 season

Circling back to Steele, the end-goal for the former All-Star is be that top-of-the-rotation anchor who makes his 30+ starts and eats a ton of innings, an old-school workhorse that's becoming rarer in the game with each passing year. Last year, he was as good as ever when he was healthy, but he missed a good chunk of the first half after going down with a hamstring injury in the team's season opener.

All in, Steele made 24 starts, working to a 3.07 ERA in 134 2/3 innings of work, giving Craig Counsell a formidable duo of lefties atop the rotation with Shota Imanaga. He's set to follow Imanaga in the season-opening series in Tokyo, squaring off against the powerful Los Angeles Dodgers before the team comes back to close out the spring and get ready for their domestic opener against Arizona on March 27.