Cade Horton Has Right Lat Strain, Will Sit 3-4 Weeks Before Throwing Again

Cade Horton exited his last start early with what was initially described as back pain, then headed to Chicago for imaging when it was revealed that the pain was in his right lat. He has since been diagnosed with a right lat strain, or a moderate subscapular strain if you’re feeling particularly pedantic, and will be shut down for 3-4 weeks before building back up for a return to the Iowa Cubs.

According to Tommy Birch, I-Cubs beat reporter for the Des Moine Register, Horton has already returned to Arizona to begin rehabbing. This news is about as good as can be expected since lat strains can and have resulted in pitchers being shut down for months. Fingers crossed for a quick recovery with no setbacks. If all goes well, Horton could still be in play for a late-season promotion.

I have to imagine that any chance of him working as a starter at the next level is gone for this season, however. If he’s able to make his way back to full health and is pitching well, the Cubs will probably want to limit his innings. In general, I’m not a proponent of that strategy because it prevents young pitchers from getting exposure to chronic workloads and building an adaptive response to that stimulus via proper recovery. Overly strict limitations potentially put them at greater risk when they are finally forced to push past them.

It’s a little different in this case because Horton isn’t terribly far removed from elbow reconstruction and will now be coming back from another injury. Just getting him to finish the season throwing well is the only goal at this point.