MESA, Ariz. — The Cubs possess the comfort of Cade Horton for an entire season, potentially with no pitch restrictions.
They also added a much-needed hard-thrower in Edward Cabrera.
They’re optimistic that prized left-hander Justin Steele will return perhaps as soon as late May with a rebuilt left arm.
They also can lean on the experience of All-Star left-hander Matthew Boyd.
Will this be enough to get them across the finish line, as in the World Series?
“Just like being there with the Dodgers, having what you think is maybe too many arms, it’s not,” Cubs outfielder Michael Conforto said Sunday. “There’s a lot of injuries that happen. There’s just things that happen over the course of the season. Everybody’s going to contribute, really everybody.
“A lot of guys that are in camp that maybe don’t know they’re going to have a piece in what’s going to happen.”
Injuries, fatigue and ineffectiveness prevented the Cubs from overtaking the Brewers and facing the Dodgers for the 2025 National League title.
Even monitoring Horton’s workload during the regular season didn’t pay off, as the 2025 Rookie of the Year runner-up suffered a rib cage factor shortly after the start of the playoffs that caused the Cubs to scramble with a mix of starters and openers.
Horton, however, displayed he’s fully recovered from his injury. He threw six shutout innings Sunday in his final spring start against the Brewers, incorporating an effective slider to left-handed batters.
He’s eager to expand his workload after being limited because he had thrown only 151 2/3 minor league innings prior to his major league promotion and never threw seven innings or more than 94 pitches after early July.
“I’m excited,” Horton said, needing only 68 pitches while walking none and striking out three. “I feel like I’ve been limited for a lot of my minor league career, and even last year.
“At the end of the day, it’s still the same game. Just go out there and get three outs at a time and be efficient, get leadoff outs. The game doesn’t change, just find ways to get deeper into games.”
Boyd, coming off career bests in wins (14) and ERA (3.21) believes any of the Cubs five starters, as well as swingman Colin Rea and Steele, are deserving of his Thursday’s opening day start against the Nationals.
“It speaks to the strength of who we are,” Boyd said. “We have a deep rotation. It all of us to get to where we want to go. But it’s awesome.”
Boyd wouldn’t prioritize having a top-notch ace like a vintage Justin Verlander over the Cubs’ depth.
“I wouldn’t say one is more important than the other,” Boyd said. “This is what we have. And this is awesome.”
The strides made by Ben Brown and Javier Assad, in addition to Steele’s expected return, fuel hope the Cubs are better equipped than they were at the end of September.
“We’ve tried our hardest to build up depth, and we’re going to need to rely on it,” President Jed Hoyer said. “You know that going in. You don’t know how it’s going to look, but you know that.
“And so having a guy like Steele here, having guys that are going to be starting in Iowa that I think are major league caliber pitchers, it’s really important.”