Cade Horton Says He’s Pain-Free, Would ‘Absolutely’ Be Available for NLCS

Losing Cade Horton to a fractured rib suffered during his final regular-season start was a big blow for the Cubs, who have since had to rely on a decidedly imperfect rotation as they stumble through the postseason. The irony is that a series of injuries led to Horton being called up earlier than the club had anticipated, after which he quickly became the staff ace and leading NL Rookie of the Year candidate. And while earning that full year of service time for finishing in the top two will be a nice consolation prize, he’d still rather be pitching right now.

That’s why, despite his team giving off microwaved-fish vibes in Milwaukee, Horton is continuing to ramp up and stay ready in the unlikely event that the Cubs mount a comeback. Though it’s a big stretch, we’ve seen them come back from two games down in a big postseason series before.

“At this moment, yeah, I am pain-free,” Horton told reporters prior to a light throwing session on Tuesday at Wrigley. “Just really not trying to push it, but, yeah, for right now, I’m feeling good.”

Horton said he’d “absolutely” be available for the next round, though he’s actually eligible to be activated from the IL ahead of a potential Game 5 in Milwaukee. That’s unlikely for more than just the Cubs’ need to win the next two games, as Horton is not on the NLDS roster and could only be added as an injury replacement.

Oh, what’s that? Ben Brown is feeling a little shoulder tightness?

In all seriousness, I’d put the odds of a Willis Reed moment at only slightly better than Jed Hoyer reaching out to me for thoughts on how the front office should be reconfigured. And since he’s probably reading this right alongside the rest of you, I’ll direct him to this piece from a time when we thought GM Carter Hawkins might be plucked away by the Nationals.

And while we’re on the subject of wishing for things that probably aren’t going to happen, I figure we may as well briefly touch on the idea that the Cubs could have done more at the deadline to address the poor state of the rotation. They certainly could have, but the problem is that the asking price for the type of impact starter who could have helped started with Horton. Not to mention several of those pitchers performed about as well as Matthew Boyd and Shōta Imanaga down the stretch.

I don’t mean to fully excuse Hoyer or Craig Counsell, just want to put things in perspective at a time when it seems we’ve all gotten a wee bit myopic. That isn’t likely to change much in the next few days if things don’t turn around in a big way as the series returns to Wrigley Field on Wednesday and, maybe, Thursday. There will surely be more hand-wringing when it becomes more publicly evident that the Cubs probably aren’t even going to make an attempt to re-sign Kyle Tucker, though it seems like much of the fanbase is already well prepared — even excited in some cases — for that eventuality.

To put a bow on the Horton thing, what matters most at this point is that he’s fully healthy for next season. There’s nothing to suggest he won’t be, so the prospect of getting a full season following his ascension to the top of the rotation this year should provide reason for a little hope.

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