Cade Horton Yanked After One Inning and the Cubs Just Lost Their Best Starter to a Forearm Strain
The Chicago Cubs' season just got a whole lot messier. Right-hander Cade Horton, one of the few bright spots in Chicago's rotation early on, landed on the 15-day injured list Sunday with a right forearm strain. The move is retroactive to Saturday, which means the 24-year-old has already missed time. It's bad timing for a team that needs everything clicking right now.
What Happened to Horton on Friday
Here's where the concern starts. Horton bailed out of Friday's game against the Cleveland Guardians after just one-plus inning and 17 pitches. He cruised through the first inning, retiring the side in order. Then in the second, something felt off. He walked Kyle Manzardo on five pitches and immediately flagged down the head trainer.
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👉 Claim Your Free $10 at Kalshi"I had some tightness in my wrist and as the game went on, it went into my forearm," Horton said Friday. "I wanted to err on the cautious side and not hurt anything else. I just wanted to be smart about it and make a smart decision."
Smart decision or not, the Guardians crushed the Cubs 4-1 that night. Losing Horton hurt on the scoreboard and in the rotation.
The Timing Couldn't Be Worse
This is the painful part. Horton had been rolling before Friday. On March 28 against the Washington Nationals, he gave up two runs in 6 1/3 innings as the Cubs won 10-2. That performance dropped his ERA to 2.45, which is exactly what you want from a young starter. It's his second season in the majors, and he was supposed to be a cornerstone arm after going 11-4 with a 2.67 ERA as a rookie.
Now he's shelved, and the Cubs have to scramble. They recalled left-hander Riley Martin from Triple-A Iowa and designated right-hander Ethan Roberts as the 27th man for Sunday's doubleheader against Cleveland. Martin, 28, has never thrown a major league pitch but has solid minor league numbers: 24-13 with a 3.76 ERA across 174 appearances. It's not the same as having Horton healthy and sharp.
For the Cubs, losing a young arm with genuine stuff this early in the season is a gut punch. They're banking on Horton bouncing back, but forearm strains aren't always quick fixes. The next few weeks will be crucial for Chicago's rotation.
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