As you know, Cubs right-hander Cade Horton left Friday’s game in the second inning with what was termed “right forearm discomfort.”
Per this article in the Tribune, Horton and manager Craig Counsell are hopeful this is not a big deal:
Horton will return to Chicago for imaging and to be examined, likely undergoing evaluation Monday.
“I’m pretty hopeful,” Horton said. “I’m erring on the cautious side so I feel like I made the right move, even though it sucks doing that and putting the bullpen and everybody
else in that situation.”
“You take a pitcher out of the game in the second inning, you’re concerned,” Counsell said. “We’re going to likely make a roster move here, and we’ll see where that takes us as we get to when Cade’s start would come up next.
“There’s reason to be optimistic this is something minor.”
So there’s that, at least. Here are further postgame comments from Counsell [VIDEO].
And here’s what Horton had to say after the game [VIDEO].
Obviously this isn’t good, but as you can hear in the video clips, both Counsell and Horton are optimistic. Let’s hope they are correct.
In the meantime, as Counsell noted, the team will likely make a roster move later today. That’s probably going to be adding a reliever, as two of the choices to replace Horton in the rotation are already on the team — Ben Brown and Colin Rea.
Relievers at Triple-A Iowa who have options include Gavin Hollowell, Luke Little, Riley Martin and Ethan Roberts. (Porter Hodge and Jordan Wicks also are on the 40-man roster and have options, but both are currently on the injured list.)
Hollowell had a good spring. Personally, I’d pick him.
Horton’s next turn in the rotation will come up Wednesday in Tampa. Rea, who threw 53 pitches Friday, could take that turn. Brown last pitched Tuesday, so he could also take that turn next week, though then he wouldn’t be able to be used in relief.
Another possible choice to take Horton’s next turn would be Javier Assad, who started for Triple-A Iowa and threw 75 pitches on Thursday. Assad has made two starts for Iowa. The first was pretty good, the second, not so much. So the team could leave Rea and Brown where they are, bring up Hollowell (or another reliever) for a few days, then replace that reliever with Assad.
What do I think they will do? Call up a reliever and give the rotation start to Rea. Rea did very well last year in a similar role when Justin Steele went down with an injury, oddly enough, almost exactly a year ago (after he threw seven shutout innings against the Rangers April 7, 2025). Counsell trusts Rea, who also pitched for him in Milwaukee.
So I’m going to pose both questions to you. First, what roster move will the Cubs make today to replace Horton? And second, who will take Horton’s turn in the rotation?
Have at it.
