Pitcher Cade Horton will undergo season-ending elbow surgery — ‘a punch in the face’ for Cubs

Initial optimism about right-hander Cade Horton’s forearm strain instead became another worst-case scenario Tuesday, when Cubs manager Craig Counsell revealed that Horton has a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) and will undergo season-ending surgery. The extent of the tear and the type of procedure needed won’t be known until the surgery is underway. The surgery hasn’t been scheduled, Counsell said, and it won’t happen this week.

“It’s a punch in the face for sure, but that’s just part of this job,” general manager Carter Hawkins said. “Part of what everybody that’s in baseball understands is the success is never going to be linear. You’re always going to have to fight through these things.

“The teams that win championships are resilient, and we have to figure out ways to step up and still have a really, really solid team. Still have an opportunity to do a lot of special things, and that’s the plan and we’re going to put everything forward to make that happen. ” Losing Horton is a devastating blow to the Cubs’ aspirations for a deeper playoff run in October, while for Horton, 24, it’s another frustrating development.

He missed the 2025 postseason while recovering from a right rib fracture he sustained a week before the playoffs started. Horton would have been able to rejoin the team had the Cubs advanced to the National League Championship Series, but that was thwarted with their Game 5 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Division Series. Horton’s 2025 performance, which featured a 2.