Cubs right-hander Cade Horton will endure elbow surgical procedure and miss the rest of the 2026 season, supervisor Craig Counsell tells Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic. Per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune, Horton has a torn ulnar collateral ligament. Whether he requires full Tommy John surgical procedure or some type of various gained’t be recognized till the process is happening. He is already on the 15-day injured record and can be transferred to the 60-day IL every time the Cubs have to open a 40-man roster spot.
It’s a painful however unsurprising growth for Horton. He began for the Cubs on Friday however threw a pitch that was about two miles per hour under his common. He summoned the coach and was faraway from the sport, with the Cubs asserting his ailment as forearm discomfort. He was rapidly positioned on the IL and is now destined to remain there.
Horton entered the 2025 season as one of many high pitching prospects within the league. He delivered on that hype by giving the Cubs 118 innings with a 2.67 earned run common. He had massive breakout potential right here in 2026 however it can as a substitute go down as a largely misplaced season. The eventual particulars of his surgical procedure will decide his path again to the mound. A full TJS often has a timeline of 14 months or extra, whereas an alternate similar to the inner brace selection might permit a pitcher to return barely faster.
The younger righty wasn’t known as up till mid-May final 12 months however pitched effectively sufficient to complete second in National League Rookie of the Year voting. As a part of the Prospect Promotion Incentive, that gave him a full 12 months of service time retroactively. He’ll proceed to gather service time whereas on the IL this 12 months and can get to the two-year mark. Along the way in which, he’ll flip 25 years outdated in August.
More to return.
