CLEVELAND \u2014 This was supposed to be the season that Cade Horton went from rookie phenom to team ace. But just 17 pitches into his second start, Horton\u2019s status is a big question mark after he exited with what was announced as right forearm tightness.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou take a pitcher out of the game in the second inning, you\u2019re concerned,\u201d Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. \u201cWe gotta let doctors look at it, probably get imaging. That\u2019s concerning in itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a 1-2-3 first inning against the Cleveland Guardians on Friday, the young righty issued a rare walk to start the second, the final pitch a 94.2 mph heater. His second pitch to Bo Naylor registered at 93.8 (Horton was sitting 96 in the first), and then he immediately motioned to the dugout.<\/p>\n
Counsell came out with trainer Nick Frangella. After a brief discussion, Horton walked off the mound. His day was done.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor sure,\u201d Horton said about feeling frustrated after he walked off the mound. \u201cI (feel) like I do everything the right way to try and stay healthy, and things pop up. Just have to deal with them and move on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Horton said some tightness in his wrist popped up during the game, and as he went along, that tightness moved into his forearm. Counsell said this would likely lead to an IL stint.<\/p>\n
After the 4-1 loss, Counsell and Horton did strike a slightly optimistic tone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just wanted to be smart about it,\u201d Horton said. \u201cI\u2019ve been in this spot before, and I\u2019ve taken the other route, where I keep going. And then it ends up being worse. So, just try to make a mature decision and end it there.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m pretty hopeful. I\u2019m erring on the cautious side. I felt like I made the right move even though it sucks doing that, putting the bullpen and everyone else in that situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seeing a dejected Horton walk off the mound had doomsday scenarios running through everyone\u2019s minds. But the early word out of the clubhouse gave some reason for hope. Still, as Counsell reminded everyone, getting sent back to Chicago to see a doctor and get imaging doesn\u2019t exactly ease concerns.<\/p>\n
Until the results come back, there will be a nagging feeling for everyone associated with the Cubs.<\/p>\n
Horton underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021 while he was at the University of Oklahoma. That procedure didn\u2019t stop the Cubs from selecting him with the No. 7 pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, after he returned and had a brilliant stretch for the Sooners in the College World Series. Horton quickly became a top prospect before a shoulder injury sidelined him for most of 2024.<\/p>\n
Last spring, he came into camp healthy and determined to put his injuries behind him. By May, with Justin Steele out for the season and Shota Imanaga on the IL, Horton was called up. After a rough start in Houston, Horton took off. He dominated down the stretch, finishing the season with a 2.67 ERA.<\/p>\n
However, a late-September start against the New York Mets that looked like a tuneup before October was his final outing of the season. He exited after three innings with a broken rib.<\/p>\n
After sitting through October, Horton followed up his NL Rookie of the Year runner-up season with a strong 2026 debut (6 1\/3 innings of two-run ball against the Washington Nationals).<\/p>\n
Horton is a key part of the Cubs rotation, a potential front-end starter who has ace upside. Along with Edward Cabrera, whom the Cubs acquired in an offseason trade, the pure stuff in Chicago\u2019s rotation had jumped a level compared to last year. The dream of what Horton could be and what heights he can reach are, for now at least, put on hold.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the hardest thing to replace,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cAnd you don\u2019t replace people like Cade. But we feel like, at least next time through, we\u2019re gonna have \u2014 whoever starts will be a strong option. Then, we\u2019ll go from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whether it\u2019s a brief absence or not, Counsell and his staff must decide how to move forward. The addition of Cabrera was partly made to build as much rotation depth as possible. Two potential starters, Colin Rea \u2014 who replaced Horton and allowed one run in 3 1\/3 innings \u2014 and Ben Brown, are already in the bullpen.<\/p>\n
Javier Assad is at Triple A, stretched out and ready when needed. Steele isn\u2019t eligible to come off the 60-day IL until May 24, but his timeline still isn\u2019t clear. He could be ready as soon as he\u2019s eligible or potentially deeper into the summer. Top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins has made just one start \u2014 albeit a strong one \u2014 at Triple-A Iowa. With command and injury issues in his past, it\u2019s still too early to call him up.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no denying this is a big blow to the Cubs. Last summer, they survived the loss of Steele and two months without Imanaga. But this felt like the beginning of something special with Horton. Losing him for an extended period, or even the whole year, greatly impacts a team with World Series aspirations.<\/p>\n
\u201cA season requires people to step up if you want to accomplish your goals,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cYou\u2019d like to avoid it for as long as you can during a season. And hopefully, the things that happen are not (season-ending), like in Steele\u2019s case (last year). But you need guys to step up.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLEVELAND \u2014 This was supposed to be the season that Cade Horton went from rookie phenom to team…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":662376,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2399],"tags":[5,138,24,4245,161,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-662375","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-cubs","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-chicago-cubs","11":"tag-chicagocubs","12":"tag-cubs","13":"tag-mlb"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116345126446974641","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=662375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662375\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/662376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=662375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=662375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=662375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}