The Cubs’ uneven start to the 2026 season took another turn this week when its rotation was dealt a significant blow: Cade Horton needs elbow surgery and will miss the rest of the year.
Meanwhile, Opening Day starter Matthew Boyd is also on the injured list with a left biceps strain. The southpaw isn’t expected to need more than a minimum stay on the IL, but his absence is still a cause for concern. He has a lengthy injury history and handled a significant workload a year ago, throwing 179 2/3 innings after totaling just 124 across 2022-24.
Here are three key rotation questions the Cubs are facing amid those setbacks.
1. Can Edward Cabrera live up to expectations?
One of the Cubs’ biggest additions during the offseason, Cabrera was already going to be an X-factor for Chicago this year, but he’s become even more vital to the club’s playoff hopes now.
Cabrera is quite talented, but he’s dealt with myriad injury issues of his own, never reaching 100 innings in a season before throwing 137 2/3 last year. He’s also battled inconsistency, pitching to a 4.32 ERA with a 5.1 BB/9 from 2021-24.
Acquired from the Marlins for a package including top prospect Owen Caissie, Cabrera has impressed in a Cubs uniform so far, allowing just two hits in 11 2/3 scoreless innings over his first two starts. Chicago needs him to keep it up.
2. Can Shota Imanaga bounce back?
Imanaga made a smooth transition from Japan to the Majors in 2024, finishing fifth in the National League Cy Young Award race after recording a 2.91 ERA with an NL-leading 6.21 K/BB ratio over 173 1/3 innings.
It was a different story in 2025 -- his strikeout rate dropped, his HR/9 rose from 1.4 to 1.9 and he missed more than seven weeks with a left hamstring strain, ultimately posting a 3.73 ERA and a 4.86 FIP in 25 starts.
If Imanaga can recapture his 2024 form, Horton’s absence is going to be much easier to absorb. The good news? His velocity has ticked back up after dropping in 2025.
3. Can they bridge the gap -- or do they need an external solution?
Some of this is going to depend on Cabrera and Imanaga. But Javier Assad, who threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings in his 2026 debut on Tuesday, has suddenly become a key figure for the Cubs as well.
He doesn’t have eye-popping stuff, but he’s performed well any time the Cubs have needed him to start, recording a 3.44 ERA over 55 career starts. The goal for Assad: pitch well enough that the Cubs don’t need to do something drastic before Justin Steele makes his return from surgery to repair the UCL in his left elbow.
Steele is on track to rejoin Chicago’s rotation at some point in the first half. If the Cubs need help before then, it’s possible they’ll consider free-agent righty Lucas Giolito, who is familiar with Chicago after spending seven seasons with the White Sox. Giolito remains unsigned despite pitching to a 3.41 ERA over 26 starts for the Red Sox in 2025, albeit with some discouraging peripherals (4.17 FIP, 5.06 xERA) and a right elbow issue that caused him to miss the playoffs.