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    Oh No: Cade Horton Leaves in 2nd Inning of Cubs Game Against Guardians

    Arguably, the best reason to believe the 2026 Cubs can overcome the Milwaukee Brewers to win the NL Central—and, indeed, to make a deep run in October—is the presence of Cade Horton at the top of their rotation. On Friday, Horton felt something and left his start abruptly. Yikes.
    Matthew Trueblood

    By Matthew Trueblood

    Image courtesy of © Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

    Cubs Video

    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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    Featured Comments

    chibears55

    chibears55 798

    Posted

    So Assad comes back up

    Hopefully it not his arm

    chibears55

    chibears55 798

    Posted

    Damn my X account still wont let me log in

    JunkyardWalrus

    JunkyardWalrus 74

    Posted (edited)

    .

    Edited by JunkyardWalrus
    chibears55

    chibears55 798

    Posted

    Bregman and Happ 🙄🙄🙄🤦

    Cubs420psd

    Cubs420psd 84

    Posted

    6 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

    So Assad comes back up

    Hopefully it not his arm

    Its his arm.

     

    Dude doesn't come off the mound with tears in his eyes because his hammy is hurt.

     

    Hes horsefeathered and so are the cubs.

    George Hayduke

    George Hayduke 5

    Posted

    “Right forearm discomfort”.  Not good

    chibears55

    chibears55 798

    Posted

    2 minutes ago, Cubs420psd said:

    Its his arm.

     

    Dude doesn't come off the mound with tears in his eyes because his hammy is hurt.

     

    Hes horsefeathered and so are the cubs.

    He wasn't crying 

    • Like 1
    Bertz

    Bertz 2,652

    Posted

    Hopefully this is an "abundance of caution" deal from a guy who's blown out his elbow before. 

    But yeah we're on heighted TJ alert for the next few months regardless.

     

    BKHoo

    BKHoo 195

    Posted

    Ugh!!! Are you kidding me?! Game 7 and we lose our best pitcher????

    Rcal10

    Rcal10 1,541

    Posted

    1 minute ago, chibears55 said:

    He wasn't crying 

    It’s his arm. 

    Crusader

    Crusader 44

    Posted

    Well, he wasn’t complaining about his elbow, so at least there’s that.

    Rcal10

    Rcal10 1,541

    Posted

    Just now, BKHoo said:

    Ugh!!! Are you kidding me?! Game 7 and we lose our best pitcher????

    Sounds like last year with Steele. 

    • Like 1
    Bertz

    Bertz 2,652

    Posted (edited)

    Even if we dodge this bullet It's probably a conversation worth having that we do broadly need to get more comfortable with this stuff.  More velo in the rotation is going to lead to more elbows popping.  We all want to get more juice in the rotation but this is the price.

    Edited by Bertz
    • Like 1
    PeanutPunch33

    PeanutPunch33 209

    Posted

    Horton is an incredible pitcher when healthy.  The 2nd half of his rookie season showed that.  Hopefully, it's not serious 

    chibears55

    chibears55 798

    Posted

    3 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

    It’s his arm. 

    I know,  but he wasn't crying when walking off field,  that all I was pointing out

    Jason Ross

    Jason Ross 2,540

    Posted

    Just now, Bertz said:

    Even if we dodge this bullet It's probably a conversation worth having that we do broadly need to get more comfortable with this stuff.  More velo in the rotation is going to lead to more elbows popping.  We all want to get more juice in the rotation but this is the price.

    Exactly this. If you want guys who break the concept of what we expect humans to do, this is going to be an unintended consequence. 

    Horton throws 98 while essentially throwing a cutter with big IVB. It's a pitch that stretches the human capacity to the fullest. 

    They're going to blow up. If you want power guys, this is the outcome, sadly. 

    Cubs420psd

    Cubs420psd 84

    Posted

    7 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

    He wasn't crying 

    Tears in his eyes, its his arm.

     

    Screenshot_20260403_160450_Chrome.jpg

    • Like 1
    • Sad 1
    cl smooth

    cl smooth 1,629

    Posted

    javier assad has entered the chat. 

    Rcal10

    Rcal10 1,541

    Posted

    4 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

    I know,  but he wasn't crying when walking off field,  that all I was pointing out

    TBF, the post you responded to said he had tears in his eyes in the dugout. Not exactly crying on the field. And, either Boog or JD did say that was the case. 

    chibears55

    chibears55 798

    Posted

    Im guessing Assad or Rea will get the next couple of starts, but beyond that is it too soon for Wiggins. 

    Jason Ross

    Jason Ross 2,540

    Posted

    Just now, chibears55 said:

    Im guessing Assad or Rea will get the next couple of starts, but beyond that is it too soon for Wiggins. 

    It is probably too soon for Wiggins. Especially if Steele isn't forever away. My guess is Rea to the rotation, Asaad to the pen. They will tread water until Steele returns and then Wiggins will be later or the next serious injury.

    Things change if at any point another injury hits though. 

    UMFan83

    UMFan83 3,015

    Posted

    14 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

    Sounds like last year with Steele. 

    He at least had the kindness to wait until game 13

    • Haha 1
    Rcal10

    Rcal10 1,541

    Posted

    1 minute ago, Jason Ross said:

    It is probably too soon for Wiggins. Especially if Steele isn't forever away. My guess is Rea to the rotation, Asaad to the pen. They will tread water until Steele returns and then Wiggins will be later or the next serious injury.

    Things change if at any point another injury hits though. 

    I would guess Rea to the rotation. But why does this mean Assad comes up? Could be any other relief pitcher if they want to keep Assad stretched out. 

    Geographyhater8888

    Geographyhater8888 418

    Posted

    8 minutes ago, Cubs420psd said:

    Tears in his eyes, its his arm.

     

    Screenshot_20260403_160450_Chrome.jpg

    horsefeathers.

    • Sad 1
    Bertz

    Bertz 2,652

    Posted

    If you want some copium, Wicks has had at least three IL stints for his forearm since he entered the org but his elbow hasn't popped yet.

    There is significant correlation on these things, but it's not 1:1.



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