Cade Horton Injury Update: Season-Changing Result Awaits the Chicago Cubs
Right-handed pitcher Cade Horton is hoping that he caught an injury early enough to avoid a long-term absence, but imaging will ultimately determine the starter’s fate after he exited in the second inning of Friday’s game with right forearm discomfort. Following the 4-1 loss to the Cleveland Guardians, Horton spoke to reporters and said he first felt tightness in his right wrist before it moved to his forearm.
Horton threw 17 pitches in his second start of the year, and after a 93.8mph fastball to Bo Naylor, Cubs’ manager Craig Counsell rushed out from the dugout along with the team trainer to meet with Horton. The 24-year-old had already peeked over into the dugout once, and the second time ended with his departure following a quick conversation on the mound.
The Cubs are cautiously optimistic, but the team won’t know for sure how severe Horton’s arm injury is until he gets an MRI. Counsell said in his postgame interview that Horton will head back to Chicago this weekend and will have imaging done by Monday.
Horton will go on the 15-day injured list, but he tried to remain positive on Friday night.
The Cubs drafted Horton with the seventh overall pick in 2022 out of Oklahoma. The right-handed pitcher had limited college experience, as Horton underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021. In 2024, the rising prospect missed the majority of the season in the minor leagues with a shoulder injury.
In 2025, Horton was called up in May by the Cubs, who were dealing with a few injuries to their rotation at the time, as Justin Steele had already been ruled out for the year, and Shōta Imanaga was placed on the injured list with a hamstring issue. It took a bit for Horton to get into a groove, but once he did the righty not only became the most consistent pitcher in the Cubs’ rotation, the rookie turned into one of the best pitchers in MLB.
Horton finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting after posting a 2.67 ERA in 118 innings of work. He was lined up to be the Cubs’ No. 1 starting pitcher in the playoffs, but a fluke rib fracture took him out of postseason action.
Now, the Cubs are crossing their fingers that arguably their best starting pitcher won’t be out for a long time. While the organization has solid depth to fill in for Horton in the regular season, the Cubs were hoping he would be leading them in October. We’ll see what the results say for Horton next week.