Cade Horton ‘Certainly’ Part of Cubs’ Pitching Plans for 2025

Between their erratic play and my recent travel blitz, Cubs off days have become something of a mercy. I might be singing a different tune had they managed to win a couple games in Cleveland, but getting swept and scoring just one run in each of the last two games has pushed this season to the brink. Tomorrow’s Quantifying Hope could see the Cubs at less than 3% postseason odds, the lowest they’ve been yet.

Even a stretch of five straight opponents with losing records probably won’t be enough to lift the Cubs out of the muck at this point, so maybe we’ll finally get an influx of young talent to Chicago. Several would-be stars of the future are just biding their time in Iowa, though most will require other personnel moves to accommodate them on the 40-man roster. Jed Hoyer’s inactivity at the deadline will look even curiouser should they end up losing several players for nothing just to clear roster space.

Rather than going back to that well yet again, I’d like to look at a player who almost certainly won’t be up this year. However, he could have the most impact of the bunch starting next season. Cade Horton has been shut down since late May due to a lat strain that has not yet healed enough for him to resume competitive throwing. He’s expected to be able to get in a full offseason, though, putting him in line to compete for a spot in the 2025 rotation.

“We feel confident that he’ll be ready to rock and roll come Spring Training, and certainly he’ll be part of our plans for next year,” Carter Hawkins told the media in Cleveland. “We just felt like pushing for this year wasn’t the smartest thing.”

Some of that may be a matter of gassing him up, as I suspect the organization is also eyeing the possibility of bringing Horton along in a manner similar to how they handled Justin Steele. The oft-injured lefty began his MLB tenure as a reliever before transitioning to the rotation and becoming the staff ace. Adbert Alzolay likewise had trouble staying healthy in the minors and was brought up as more of a swingman, then served primarily as a starter before becoming a closer.

Depending on whether and how they address the pitching staff this offseason, there could be at least one rotation spot open with Kyle Hendricks‘ imminent departure. Then again, Ben Brown and Jordan Wicks should be healthy next year as well. There are several factors involved in this eventual decision and it’s a good problem to have so long as the club is able to solve it properly. My concern is that they could end up wasting some of Horton’s bullets on target practice.

The good news is that he should be up one way or the other next season, ideally right out of the gate.