Cade Horton's Season Just Hit a Wall: Cubs Lose Young Ace to Forearm Strain After One Inning
The Cubs' rotation took a massive hit Sunday when they placed right-hander Cade Horton on the 15-day injured list with a right forearm strain. The move was retroactive to Saturday, but the damage happened Friday night when Horton couldn't get out of the second inning against Cleveland.
This is exactly the kind of setback a young rotation can't absorb. Horton retired the side in order in the first, but when he walked Kyle Manzardo on five pitches to open the second, something was clearly off. He felt it too. "I had some tightness in my wrist and as the game went on, it went into my forearm," Horton said after leaving the game with the Cubs' head trainer. "I wanted to err on the cautious side and not hurt anything else." The Guardians went on to win 4-1, and now Chicago is without one of their most promising arms.
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Horton came into Friday's game looking sharp. His ERA sat at 2.45 after he'd given the Cubs a quality start against Washington on March 28, allowing just two runs in 6 1/3 innings in a 10-2 win. It's only his second season in the majors, but the 24-year-old looked like he was building on a strong rookie year. Last season he went 11-4 with a 2.67 ERA, the kind of foundation you build a rotation around.
Now he's sidelined, and the Cubs have to scramble. They recalled left-hander Riley Martin from Triple-A Iowa on Sunday and tabbed right-hander Ethan Roberts as the 27th man for their doubleheader against Cleveland. Martin, 28, has never pitched in the majors, though he's got 174 career minor league appearances with a 3.76 ERA and a 24-13 record. It's not the kind of depth move that gets fans excited.
A Cautious Call That Could Define the Season
Credit Horton for being smart about it. Walking away after just 17 pitches and one-plus innings hurts in the moment, but that's the right call with forearm issues. This isn't something you push through in early April. Still, for a Cubs team that needs production right now, losing Horton for the next two weeks is a gut punch.
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