Oh No: Cade Horton Out for Season, to Undergo UCL Surgery

[Brandon Glick]

Image courtesy of © Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Cubs amassed pretty good starting rotation depth this winter, all things considered. They entered the season with a fully healthy group of five: Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Shota Imanaga, Edward Cabreras and Jameson Taillon. Behind them, as depth, the team has Colin Rea and Ben Brown in the big-league bullpen and Javier Assad waiting in the Triple-A Iowa rotation. You can't be much better-positioned to withstand an injury than that, in the modern game, especially given that the team will get Justin Steele back after his 2025 Tommy John surgery, sometime this summer.

Take the best arm out of any pitching staff, though, and it looks a lot weaker, immediately. That might be what the Cubs are facing now. On Friday, Cade Horton departed in the middle of an at-bat in the bottom of the second inning, feeling obvious discomfort and calling the trainer to the mound before leaving. His fastball velocity nosed down sharply immediately before he left, too.

We'll update when we know more about what's happening, but it's not too early to harbor deep concerns here. Should Horton miss significant time, the Cubs would be without their ace and the rest of the rotation would immediately seem stretched and strained—just as they were around this time last year, when they lost Steele.

UPDATE: If you were hoping the issue was a simple blister or that Horton was dealing with a lingering cold or flu, you'll have to let that hope go. The issue is in his forearm, the team announced.

 

Now, the question is of severity. A trip to the injured list is virtually guaranteed, any time a pitcher leaves a game with a forearm problem. Presumably, Horton will be sent for imaging, and much of the Cubs' upside for this season will hinge on the outcome thereof.

 

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[Brandon Glick]

 

[Bertz]

Despite being on the road and Cleveland being a playoff team this feels like a series you should take 2/3?  Their offense sucks, we're getting the back half of their rotation, and they're not seeing Taillon.

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

guardians are brewer'ish I wouldn't have high expectations

[chibears55]

Amaya DH today against the lefty

[Derwood]

3-3

Game 7

In Cleveland

on 4-3

 

[mk49]

1 hour ago, chibears55 said:

Amaya DH today against the lefty

Hopefully, he will be the catcher tomorrow.  I think Shota pitches better with Amaya catching.

[Derwood]

5 minutes ago, mk49 said:

Hopefully, he will be the catcher tomorrow.  I think Shota pitches better with Amaya catching.

[chibears55]

Joey Cantillo mowing them down 😅

[squally1313]

Well. That’s not good. 

[JHBulls]

Absolutely horsefeathers. 😞

[CubinNY]

Not good, LT, not good. 

[PeanutPunch33]

Brutal 

[Papa Cub]

Well - that’s never good

[mk49]

What happened to him?

[squally1313]

Horton pulled in the middle of his 5th hitter after motioning for the trainer to come out. Colin Rea in. 

[CubinNY]

Zack said he grabbed his left shoulder? 

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Just now, mk49 said:

What happened to him?

Nothing noticeable.

[Rcal10]

Just now, CubinNY said:

Zack said he grabbed his left shoulder? 

I didn’t see him grab anything. Just looked into the dugout after the pitch. But it can’t be good. 

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

1 minute ago, CubinNY said:

Zack said he grabbed his left shoulder? 

He didn't grab anything. Zaidman is a moron

[chibears55]

That not good 

If they lose Horton for a good period of time it gonna be really bad for them 

[Eeyore]

He ded 😞

[soccer10k]

1 minute ago, Rcal10 said:

I didn’t see him grab anything. Just looked into the dugout after the pitch. But it can’t be good. 

Yeah, it rarely is. Like a non contact injury in basketball or football where they grab the knee is almost always an ACL.

[Illiterate Scholar]

He stared into the dugout the previous 2 pitches as well it looked like. I thought that seemed weird

[Cubs420psd]

This is why I could never get too excited about Horton.

 

Its always been something with him, ever since college. Dude is a walking injury.

 

There goes any potential for a deep run. Fantastic.

Edited April 3 by Cubs420psd