Cubs right-hander Cade Horton to undergo season-ending elbow surgery
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Cubs entered this season with the depth to withstand pitching injuries, but there’s no replacing Cade Horton.
Manager Craig Counsell announced that Horton, one of the game’s best young pitchers, will miss the rest of the season and undergo season-ending elbow surgery after imaging revealed damage to the UCL.
Horton left Friday’s start against the Guardians in the second inning, complaining of wrist discomfort that progressed to his forearm. He returned to Chicago on Monday for more imaging and tests.
Horton posted a 2.67 ERA across 22 starts and earned nine first-place votes in Rookie of the Year voting. Horton raised the level of his performance in the second half, posting a 1.03 ERA and holding opposing batters to a .154/.213/.234 slash line .
His play was so impactful that Counsell pushed back on the notion of another next step for Horton because of how good he was.
After an impressive first start of the 2026 season, Horton looked to be on the cusp of stardom, now he faces a career pause as he rehabilitates his throwing arm.
“There are things that 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 are 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, already had Tommy John surgery in his young career while at Oklahoma in 2021. Knowing the delicate nature of young starting pitchers and how susceptible they are to injuries, the Cubs limited Horton’s innings last season to avoid this situation.
Pitching injuries remain unpredictable, no matter how cautious an organization is.
“Anytime a guy goes on the mound, you do everything you possibly can to learn from the things that don't go well,” general manager Carter Hawkins said. “It's easy to throw your hands up and go, ‘Hey, it just happens.’ I think that's kind of a lazy one to do. I think even [in] a case like this, where we can't pinpoint what went wrong or what we might have done wrong, [you still] try to figure out what potentially we could do better moving forward and apply those learnings and then try to get better.
"We've been doing that for years now, and I think we're limiting the risk of our pitchers because of that, [but] it doesn't eliminate the risk.”
Barring a trade, the Cubs will lack a pitcher of Horton’s caliber. His injury sets off several pitching changes: Colin Rea will likely move into the rotation, requiring the bullpen to adjust and cover his innings.
Left-hander Justin Steele, the 2024 Opening Day starter, is progressing in his return from UCL revision surgery that ended his 2025 season with eyes on a May or June return. But at the beginning of the season, Steele’s return was considered a bonus. Now, it might be necessary for him to return to the mound in top form.
The Cubs’ pitching depth helps with short-term injuries, but losing Horton for the season is a fatal blow. Javier Assad and Rea might raise the floor, but Horton raised the ceiling.
Horton’s presence gave the Cubs belief they could go deep in the playoffs. Even in just his second season, he proved irreplaceable.
“But it's not all on Colin, or it's not all on the guy that replaces Colin in the bullpen,” Counsell said. “We all have to just do our part.”