Today: Speaking on ESPN 1000 radio, ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reported that Horton will visit Dr. Keith Meister later today, following an unfavorable MRI (via ESPN 1000’s David Kaplan). While a second opinion from a renowned orthopedic surgeon doesn’t guarantee bad news, there’s no doubt that it’s a troubling development for the Cubs and their young right-hander.
April 3, 6:17pm: Captain Craig Counsell tells Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic that Horton will take pictures this weekend. The team will know when the results are back, but the righty will go on the 15-day injured list regardless.
April 3, 3:56pm: Children are good Late Horton came out today after calling the coach in the second inning. Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune points out that Horton’s last pitch was a fastball that was about two miles per hour ahead of his season average. Taylor McGregor of the Marquee Sports Network added that the Cubs called Horton’s right arm injury.
It’s a scary development for a Cubs team that opened the season without an ace Justin Steelestill in the draft since UCL surgery last April. Horton, 24, was a contender for National League Rookie of the Year in 2025 after kicking down the door to the majors with a 2.67 ERA in his first 118 major league frames. The overall batting rank of 2022 No. 7’s 20.4% average was a few percentage points shy of average, but he offset that with strong command (6.9 walk rate), a low ground ball rate (42.3%) and an ability to avoid hard contact. He pitched 7 1/3 innings this season between his start and today’s shortened start. Opponents have two runs on four hits and a walk.
Obviously, it’s too soon to tell if Horton will miss any length of time — if at all. Even a temporary IL stint can bite, though. Other Chicago suburbs include Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga and commercial acquisitions Edward Cabrera. Steele and former player Jordan Wicks both are already on the injured list.
Veteran swingman Colin Rea is in the bullpen and could start in the short term if the Cubs need to. He filled in admirably last year when the starting staff was injured. Rea posted a 4.33 ERA in 27 starts last season and a 0.56 ERA in 16 relief innings. He was the manager Craig CounsellThe choice is still today, to take over after Horton’s exit. That’s right Ben Brown worked as a starter in camp and has been extended in multiple innings; has thrown 6 2/3 innings in two games this season.
If you look down the depth chart, it’s fine Javier Assad is in Triple-A and already on the 40-man roster. He pitched to a 3.43 ERA in 331 big league innings, mostly off the rotation, though injuries limited him to 55 1/3 innings between Triple-A and the big leagues last year. High hopes Jaxon Wiggins is also in Triple-A but will need to be added to the 40-man roster. Veterans Kyle Wright again Vince Velasquez re-opened the season with the Cubs’ senior team in Des Moines after signing minor league deals over the winter. Or they could be named as interim replacements, though like Wiggins, they would need to be added to the 40-man roster.
