Justin Steele has already proved to himself — and the rest of the league — that he is one of the top pitchers in baseball when healthy.

It’s that “when healthy” part he would like to clean up.

Over the last 3 seasons, Steele ranks 9th among all qualified MLB pitchers with a 3.10 ERA. But he sits just 32nd in starts (78) and 41st in innings (427) due to injuries.

In 2022, it was a back injury that cost him the final month of the season.

Last year, it was a forearm injury in June.

Then this season, Steele drew the Opening Day start but strained his hamstring in that first game and missed a month. He also was forced to the shelf for two weeks in September with left elbow tendinitis that was very similar to the forearm issue he experienced in 2023.

“The Opening Day injury, I feel like that was just a freak thing,” Steele said after returning from the IL in September. “But as far as the forearm stuff goes, just do a little more on the front end of it to prevent it from happening.”

[Watch the entire Hoyer end-of-season press conference on the Marquee Sports Network app]

How do Steele and the Cubs keep the persistent forearm/elbow problems at bay?

It’s something they’re still working through. But they feel like they’ve learned from the past couple of seasons.

“I think it’s something we start looking at — some pre-things we can do in the offseason to put my forearm in a better spot going into the season,” he said. “Or just in between starts, doing different things to make sure it’s in a better spot going into the next start.

“Doing the little things in the smaller areas to try and preventative of flare-ups in the future.”

Steele underwent Tommy John surgery as a Cubs prospect in 2017, so there is an element of being cautious when forearm or elbow issues would pop up.

But he felt as if both the 2023 forearm issue and this September’s elbow/forearm injury were very similar and feels confident there is not a bigger issue underneath it all given how quickly he was able to return in both instances.

Still, the missed time has been frustrating for Steele. He wants to be out there for his team, forming a dynamic duo with Shota Imanaga atop the Cubs rotation.

“My main goal [this offseason] is to be healthy for a full season,” he said. “32 starts, 180-plus innings.”