Horton\u2019s 2025 performance, which featured a 2.67 ERA and 144 ERA+ in 118 innings, earned him a second-place finish in voting<\/a> for the NL Rookie of the Year award.<\/p>\n His success last year helped lessen the blow of losing left-hander Justin Steele for the season in early April to elbow surgery. Unlike Steele\u2019s injury \u2014 of which there were initial signs in September 2024 with elbow tendinitis that required a two-week stint on the injured list \u2014 there were no indications, even behind the scenes, of any underlying issues with Horton\u2019s arm, Hawkins said.<\/p>\n \u201cFirst of all, I feel for Cade,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cThese things get thrown in front of you that are big, and processing it on a day like today for Cade is really hard because you just start to look at what\u2019s ahead of you and there\u2019s a lot of long days of monotonous work. \u2026 It makes you try to cherish the good days that you have and understand that we don\u2019t get all good days. This certainly isn\u2019t one of them for Cade.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom a team perspective, we have to look at this as someone else is going to get a chance and there\u2019s going to be an opportunity for someone else to prove they can be part of a great baseball team.\u201d<\/p>\n The Cubs managed Horton\u2019s workload last year, often limiting him to 75 to 80 pitches as he made a huge jump in innings from 2024, when he missed most of the season because of a shoulder injury. Hawkins said the Cubs will do a full postmortem to try to figure out what they could do better and apply what they learn as they aim to improve health and injury prevention.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been doing that for years now, and I think we\u2019re limiting the risk of our pitchers because of that, but it doesn\u2019t eliminate the risk of our pitchers,\u201d Hawkins said. \u201cObviously this injury shows that. You accept that risk anytime a guy goes onto the mound. You do everything you possibly can, you try to learn when things don\u2019t go well. It\u2019s easy to throw your hands up and go, hey, it just happens. I think that\u2019s kind of a lazy point of view.\u201d<\/p>\n This marks the second UCL surgery for Horton, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021 before his freshman year at Oklahoma. He pitched in 14 games during his lone season for the Sooners in 2022 before the Cubs selected him with the No. 7 pick that year.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s experience, it\u2019s not unknown, and I think that always helps,\u201d Counsell said of Horton\u2019s previous elbow surgery. \u201cThere\u2019s also some parts of it that are probably discouraging in terms of the work ahead of you. You just don\u2019t get to compete, and that\u2019s what you love to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Horton departed his second start of the season in the middle of a second-inning at-bat Friday in Cleveland after experiencing discomfort in his forearm. The sensation originated in his wrist and spread to his forearm, prompting him to look toward the Cubs dugout after a 1-1 fastball that registered at 93.8 mph, nearly 2 mph below his average velocity.<\/p>\n Horton returned to Chicago on Sunday and was examined Monday by team doctor Stephen Gryzlo, which included imaging. He received another opinion Tuesday morning from Dr. Keith Meister in Texas, and surgery was decided as the best route.<\/p>\n Veteran right-hander Colin Rea is positioned to slide into Horton\u2019s spot in the rotation, which comes up Wednesday in the series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Right-hander Javier Assad started Tuesday night in place of left-hander Matthew Boyd, who went on the 15-day IL on Monday<\/a> with a biceps strain.<\/p>\n Losing Horton for the year and being without Boyd for at least two weeks doesn\u2019t change how the Cubs will utilize Ben Brown because Counsell believes Brown\u2019s usage in his first three outings this year have prepared him well if they need the right-hander to start.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not all on Colin, or it\u2019s not all on the guy that replaces Colin in the bullpen,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cWe all have to do our part. That\u2019s what you do. We\u2019ve got an opportunity ahead of us. That\u2019s how you look at it.\u201d<\/p>\n The Cubs found themselves in the same position at this point last year with Steele, who made his fourth and final start of the 2025 season on April 7. The tear was discovered after that, prompting surgery in mid-April.<\/p>\n![\"Cubs](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/CTC-L-cubs-angels004.jpg\")
Cubs manager Craig Counsell stands in the dugout before a game against the Angels on March 31, 2026, at Wrigley Field. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n