CHICAGO -- Cade Horton is proud of the rookie campaign he has compiled to date for the Cubs. He is proud of how he learned from a gut-punch of an outing in Houston in late June and responded with one of baseball’s best second-half showings. He is proud that his name is firmly in the conversation for the National League Rookie of the Year Award.
None of that can erase the internal sting Horton is currently experiencing.
“I take a lot of pride in that,” Horton said of his sensational rookie season. “But in this spot of the year, I really wanted to impact the team right now. I still can, just being a good teammate and supporting these guys. We’ve got a really special group in here.”
Horton held court at his locker in the Cubs’ clubhouse on Sunday morning -- one day after a right rib fracture landed the right-hander on the 15-day injured list. The 24-year-old pitcher was on a trajectory to possibly take the ball in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series against the Padres, but he is now likely out through the NL Division Series should Chicago advance.
The North Siders placed Horton on the IL on Saturday after two days of playing catch confirmed that he would not be able to get back on a mound without risking making matters worse. The rookie exited his start against the Mets on Tuesday due to tightness in his mid-back and ribcage and an MRI exam on Wednesday revealed the fracture.
Horton said he is not totally certain how the injury occurred, beyond the working theory that a recent illness (one that included a persistent cough) played a role in the setback. He was sick prior to his start, but felt good enough to make the start. Between innings, Horton experienced tightness and trouble with deep breathing, leading to his exit after three innings and 29 pitches.
“I think it was just a perfect storm, unfortunately,” Horton said. “There wasn’t one pitch. There wasn’t one cough. I think it was just the combination of fatigue, cough, then I go out and try to throw 98 [mph] and it just gives out. I don’t think there was any protecting it. I think it was just kind of a matter of when.”
Horton was asked if he has since second-guessed his decision to start against New York.
“No, I’m not second-guessing it at all,” he said. “We thought about maybe giving an extra day, but what would that extra day have done? Probably nothing. At the end of the day, I didn’t want to go into the playoff start not throwing for two weeks. That’s a whole other thing. I don’t think rest really would’ve done much. I was over my sickness. It was just kind of an unfortunate situation.”
Horton said the plan now is to work with the Cubs’ staff to find ways to keep his arm in game shape without the intensity of throwing for the time being. He plans on taking that “day-by-day” approach with the goal of potentially being available deeper into October.
Overall this season, Horton went 11-4 with a 2.67 ERA, amassing 97 strikeouts against 33 walks in 118 innings. He made his debut on May 10 after lefty Shota Imanaga was placed on the IL and the rookie never looked back. And after giving up seven runs in a disastrous outing in Houston on June 27, Horton responded with a 1.36 ERA in his next 14 turns to help Chicago reach the playoffs.
“He’s been incredible for us,” Cubs starter Jameson Taillon said. “He picked us up a lot this year when I was down for a while, Shota was down for a while. So now it’s our turn to try to pick him up and make sure he can hopefully play a part as we get going into the playoffs. It stinks. I hurt for him. But hopefully we can all do our part to pick him up.”
Without Horton, the Cubs have veterans Matthew Boyd and Imanaga as the main options for Games 1-2 (order to be determined), or manager Craig Counsell could consider using an opener. Taillon looks lined up for a potential Game 3 situation, if the best-of-three NL Wild Card Series were to get that far.
“These guys can do it,” Horton said. “They’ve helped me so much, just in terms of going out there every fifth day. Just working with them every day has been so special. That’s one thing about this rotation -- we pick each other up when it’s needed. So I’ve got really good belief in them.”