We’re not even two weeks into the 2026 MLB season, but one of the Chicago Cubs’ best players, and one of baseball’s brightest young stars, will miss the rest of the campaign. Cubs starting pitcher Cade Horton was declared out for the rest of the season by manager Craig Counsell on Tuesday. Horton left Friday’s start in the second inning due to discomfort in his right forearm, and that injury will end his sophomore season just two starts in.
In the top of the second inning versus Cleveland, Horton’s 17th pitch was a 94 mph fastball called for a strike. But he looked a bit uneasy afterwards, which prompted Counsell, catcher Carson Kelly, and Cubs’ medical personnel to immediately go to the mound. That led to the pitcher being lifted, and he walked off the mound toward the dugout with his head down.
After the game, and prior to any testing, Counsell described what Horton felt on the mound.
On Sunday, the 24-year-old pitcher was placed on the 15-day injured list, which ended up being nothing more than a placeholder. On Tuesday, Counsell added that Horton actually injured his elbow and specifically his ulnar collateral ligament. The skipper also said Horton will undergo surgery but didn’t specify what type of operation he would have.
UCL injuries are usually associated with the dreaded Tommy John surgery, which countless pitchers have undergone. That carries a return-to-play timetable of over a year and often up to 18 months. It’s also a procedure that Horton has firsthand knowledge of, as he underwent Tommy John surgery in his freshman year at the University of Oklahoma. That knocked him out all of the 2021 season, and he then played third base and only pitched in relief at the start of the 2022 season before then being moved to the rotation.
Horton was able to overcome that setback, and by the end of 2022, he was starting for the Sooners in the College World Series. He even fired off 13 strikeouts in a start in the College World Series, which led to him being a first-round pick by the Cubs just weeks later in the 2022 MLB Draft.
So Horton’s season ends after two starts and 7.1 innings pitched. He helped the Cubs get their first win in the team’s second game when he allowed two earned runs over six and one-third innings against the Washington Nationals on March 28. The fact that Horton started Chicago’s second game shows the expectations the team had of him at the front of the rotation. Those high expectations were certainly warranted after he dazzled during his rookie year in 2025.
Horton began last year in the minors but was a May call-up and would stick with the Big League club for the remainder of the season. He posted an 11-4 record, striking out 97 batters across 118 innings. His 2.67 ERA was the fifth best in the National League among pitchers with at least 100 innings. For his efforts, Horton finished as runner-up in NL Rookie of the Year voting to Drake Baldwin of the Atlanta Braves.
This is the latest blow to a Cubs rotation that has already been rocked with injuries this season. Opening Day starter Matthew Boyd is already on the injured list due to a biceps strain, though his stay on the IL is expected to last just the 15-day minimum. Meanwhile, Justin Steele, who finished fifth in Cy Young voting in 2023, has not pitched this season as he recovers from his own UCL surgery from April 2025. Steele did face hitters in a batting practice session last week and is hoping to be back in the Cubs’ rotation in late May or early June.
Then there are Chicago’s injured relievers, including Shelby Miller, who is expected to miss this entire season after UCL reconstruction after last season. Fellow bullpen arms Jordan Wicks and Porter Hodge are both on the 15-day injured list. The former could return to the mound within the next week, while Hodge will need a little more time.
The lack of available arms has contributed to the Cubs’ 4-6 start, after the team went 92-70 a year ago, winning its Wild Card Series but losing in the NLDS. But more of the blame for Chicago’s sluggish start falls on the hitters.
Entering play on Tuesday, the Cubs rank last in the National League in batting average (.199) and hits (63). The pitching staff, though, has held its own. The Cubs are slightly above average on the mound, ranking seventh in the NL with a team ERA of 3.72.
