ST. PETERSBURG, Fla — The Cubs entered this season with the depth to withstand pitching injures, but there’s no replacing Cade Horton.
Manager Craig Counsell announced that Horton will miss the rest of the season and undergo season-ending elbow surgery after imaging revealed damage to the UCL. This injury is a blow to a team that has World Series aspirations.
But for Horton, it’s a huge emotional hit. He ended the 2026 season in dominant fashion, posting a 1.03 ERA and holding opposing batters to a .154/.213/.234 slash line. After being on the cusp of stardom and impressive in his first start of the 2026 season, Horton will now have his career put on pause as he rehabilitates his throwing arm.
“These things get thrown in front of you that are big,” Counsell said, “and you have to process it on a day like today for Cade. There’s a lot of long days of monotonous work ahead of you.”
The specific injury Horton will undergo has yet to be determined. Horton, the No. 7 pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, has already had Tommy John surgery in his young career while at Oklahoma. Knowing the delicate nature of young starting pitchers and how susceptible they are to injuries, the Cubs limited Horton’s injuries to avoid this situation. But first the rib injury popped up, and now the elbow injury.
Pitching injuries are unpredictable. No matter how cautious an organization is, an injury can always be on the horizon.
Barring a trade for an arm outside the organization, the Cubs will not have a pitcher the caliber of Horton. Horton’s injury creates a cascading effect: Collin Rea will likely take his rotation spot, but that then means that a player will have to take Rea’s bullpen innings.