CHICAGO – Cade Horton has been one of the better pitchers in baseball over the past three months, making the Cubs' rookie a leading candidate to take the ball when the North Siders play their first postseason game in five years next week.
Given Horton’s importance to the rotation -- not to mention Chicago’s chance for a deep October run -- it made sense that manager Craig Counsell pulled the plug at the first sign of an issue in Tuesday night’s 9-7 loss to the Mets at Wrigley Field. The right-hander was lifted from his start after three innings due to back tightness.
“Made the right move,” Horton said. “Didn’t want to push it. It sucks. Hate it, but it’s the right move.”
The Cubs announced that Horton’s early exit was precautionary in nature, but ending his evening likely put a period on the regular-season portion of his rookie campaign for Chicago. And over the past few months, the 24-year-old Horton has arguably vaulted himself to the top of the list for the National League Rookie of the Year.
With the loss, Chicago’s cushion over the Padres for the NL’s top Wild Card spot was trimmed to two games, pending the result of San Diego’s game against the Brewers late Tuesday night. With five games to go, the Cubs are still trying to lock up home-field advantage for the first round of the playoffs.
The North Siders have lost a season-high five in a row since clinching a place on the October stage last week.
Counsell noted that Horton has been battling illness in recent days with coughing and difficulty with deep breathing as two of the symptoms. The pitcher was able to throw his bullpen session and go through his normal catch routine with no issues, but the plan going in was to keep a close eye on Horton against New York.
When Horton began having his mid-back tighten up between innings -- with soreness around his ribs -- Counsell decided to turn things over to the bullpen.
“We wanted to be extra careful during this start tonight,” Counsell said. “So, we stopped it.”
Overall this season, Horton has spun a 2.67 ERA with 97 strikeouts and 33 walks in 118 innings across 23 appearances (22 starts). He made his Major League debut against the Mets on May 10 and never returned to the Minor Leagues, earning his place on Chicago’s staff as the team chased down its first playoff berth since 2020.
Since the start of July, Horton has turned in a 1.36 ERA, ranking first in the NL in that span among pitchers with at least 50 innings. The young righty has been even better since the All-Star break, spinning a 1.03 ERA that leads the Majors (min. 40 innings).
Against the Mets on Tuesday night, Horton surrendered a leadoff homer to Francisco Lindor in the first inning before settling in. He logged 29 pitches before being pulled by Counsell due to the back issue.
“I felt really good pitching-wise,” Horton said. “I felt like I was hitting my spots, attacking guys. I really felt good. Just in-between innings, I started to get a little stiff. Breathing started to play a factor. Everything started to tighten up, so we just did not want to jeopardize next week.”
Asked if he could have pitched through the issue in a postseason setting, Horton replied: “Absolutely. Absolutely.”
While Counsell has not announced any rotation plans for the best-of-three Wild Card series, which begins on Sept. 30, the schedule points to Horton being able to start in Game 1 or Game 2. He would have six days off between starts prior to the opener of that series, which would be against the Padres as things currently stand.
The Cubs have used a six-man rotation recently, building in some flexibility in the event that something does not go according to plan. If Horton needs more rest due to the back issue, lefty Matthew Boyd or lefty Shota Imanaga would be the top options for Game 1. Boyd and Imanaga are slated to start on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, against the Mets.
“He’s absolutely earned that nod, if that’s what we decide to do,” Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong said of Horton. “I know he has the trust of his teammates and his peers, definitely the coaching staff. ... Whoever gets the ball, I think we’re just going to be real ready to go play some good defense and put some runs on the board.”