Cubs righty Cade Horton exited today’s start after calling for a trainer in the second inning. The Chicago Tribune’s Meghan Montemurro points out that Horton’s final pitch was a fastball that clocked in about two miles per hour shy of his season average. Taylor McGregor of the Marquee Sports Network adds that the Cubs are calling Horton’s injury right forearm discomfort.
It’s an ominous development for a Cubs team that opened the season without ace Justin Steele, who is still on the mend from last April’s UCL surgery. Horton, 24, was the National League Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2025 after kicking down the door to the majors with a 2.67 ERA in his first 118 big league frames. The 2022 No. 7 overall pick’s 20.4% strikeout rate was a couple percentage points shy of average, but he offset that with strong command (6.9% walk rate), an average ground-ball rate (42.3%) and a knack for avoiding hard contact. He’s pitched 7 1/3 innings this season between his debut and today’s abbreviated start. Opponents have two runs on four hits and a walk.
Obviously, it’s too soon to say whether Horton will miss an extended period of time — if he misses any at all. Even a short-term IL stint would sting, however. The rest of the Chicago rotation includes Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga and trade acquisition Edward Cabrera. Steele and former first-rounder Jordan Wicks are both on the injured list already.
Veteran swingman Colin Rea is in the bullpen and could start in the short term if the Cubs need. He filled in admirably last year when injuries piled up on the starting staff. Rea posted a 4.33 ERA in 27 starts last season and a 0.56 ERA in 16 relief innings. He was manager Craig Counsell‘s go-to option today as well, taking over after Horton’s exit. Righty Ben Brown worked as a starter in camp and is still stretched out for multiple innings as well; he’s tossed 6 2/3 frames in two appearances this season.
Looking further down the depth chart, righty Javier Assad is in Triple-A and already on the 40-man roster. He’s pitched to a 3.43 ERA in 331 major league innings, mostly out of the rotation, though injuries limited him to 55 1/3 innings between Triple-A and the big leagues last year. Top prospect Jaxon Wiggins is also in Triple-A but would need to be added to the 40-man roster. Veterans Kyle Wright and Vince Velasquez also opened the season with the Cubs’ top affiliate in Des Moines after signing minor league deals in the winter. Either could be called upon as short-term replacements, although like Wiggins, they’d need to be added to the 40-man roster.
Didn’t look like a pop but still not feeling great about this
From the look on his face walking to the dugout, and knowing he already has had TJ surgery, I’m guessing he knew right away it was bad. My guess is he’s done for the year, with another full TJ, or internal brace, and hello August of 27 (assuming the upcoming lockout is over by then). On a totally unrelated note, hey Miami…y’all have such a cool city, but the humidity and weird bugs are freaky. Is there any chance Sandy might be looking for a really chill high-rise on Lake Shore Drive that includes all the good pizza and Chicago Dogs he can eat? If so….just call Jed at 1-800-We Just Got Desperate
And that would put the Cubs over the tax and make Tommy an unhappy boy going into the CBA lockout. Good job Jedley. Give that man another extension!
1-800- lucas Giolito
Familiar w city. Send him to AAA for a month n lets go
And that would put the Cubs over the Tax and even Rea, Brown and Assad are better than him anyway. So no thanks to another bad idea.
TJ Surgery imminent
How does a pop “look”?
Oh boy, hope it’s nothing huge…
Just hope he doesn’t have ucl issues
Chances he’s out for the season and into next? 90%. That’s classic symptoms.
SeMaholic: Another orthopedic surgeon generously providing insight. Egad.
or someone that actually knows ball. unlike yourself. obvious TJ coming.
He looked like a guy who had that feeling in his arm before and knows it is bad. Hopefully not.
Even if his UCL is intact you’re probably looking at a 60 day IL stint. They’re not going to rush him back. Hopefully now Steele has no setbacks but he can’t even be activated until late May. It’s not the fact the Cubs don’t have guys, It’s he was their BEST guy.
Not good. For Cubs to have a shot at World Series, they need both a healthy Horton and a healthy Steele in September and October.
Los Angeles and Milwaukee both look good again this year, so the margin for error is very thin.
Hopefully, Horton will just need a couple weeks of rest.
WS dream is over sir
Cubs have YET to get past the brewers.
So all this crap about WS aspirations is extremely laughable.
F***************k!!!!!!!
Well Steele was out for the year last year during his first start. At least Horton made it til his second start this year. I hate this – hopefully he escapes without anything too serious but I doubt it.
It looked bad. He was almost in tears. Assad would be the logical choice except he pitched last night and has been pretty bad so far. Bring up somebody for a couple of days until they decide who to bring up. They could slot in Brown or Rea with the other moving to long man. Lots of moving parts right now, Should be interesting to see how it plays out.
Bring up Hollowell for a few days since he has options, then bring up Assad when he is rested.
This article came quick. Wonder how long it’ll take to post about the Alejandro Kirk injury….
That didn’t look good either. Looked like a possible broken left thumb.
As a White Sox fan that absolutely does not like the Cubs….this still sucks for this dude. Hope it’s nothing serious, but wouldn’t hold my breath
Least south siders taking care of business this afternoon for the fans
Ben Brown says “hi”
Sure is a lot of discomfort lately.
Ruh roh
Damn
Cubs are up 1-0 going into the bottom of the 5th in this game and feels like (due to Cade’s injury) that they’re down 47-0
Seriously, if Cade’s going to miss significant time, we’re about to see if the Cubs management are truly all-in or not. And yes, Brown, Rea and Assad are solid candidates for the rotation, but it’s tough to see them as difference-makers in the playoffs.
But…I want to be wrong about all this.
Dont worry, they will lose. Once cade went down, tribe/ guards free money
Team is shell shocked n shouldnt even have a run
Cade season may be over. It its TJ, could be career threatening being #2
hopefully returns by May 2028.
Let Bauer get ramped up with Long Island and make that call. The fan base would embrace him while sitting shirtless in the bleachers, making beer snakes, and stumbling to Sluggers after the game to meet their new girlfriend who’s puking in the bathroom after too many fireball shots
Lucas Giolito maybe. Bauer never.
They have brought back and embraced former Cub scumbag Sammy Sosa. At least Bauer could help them on the field. He’d be cheaper and much better than Lucas. Plus, Trevor wants to be miked up and continue to produce content on his socials. There is cross branding to be done here and both parties could benefit.
Giolito hasn’t been ‘competitive’ in years. There are multiple better choices already available, on the roster.
Plain and simple and I called it out in the Opener. Cubs starting pitcher, this morning, was listed on the two betting sites I looked at, on espn, on mlb.com, and on the CUBS WEBSITE as TBD. Horton was listed last night.
There was some question BEFORE he started.
Maybe unrelated, of course, but to be TBD with Shota, Taillon, etc listed going forth makes the post-game interviews quite interesting.
Negative vibes! Let’s wait for the MRI results vice the immediate arm-chair-doctor-wannabe gloom, despair and agony” crap.