Cubs Boss Jed Hoyer Shares Major Injury Update On Young Star Cade Horton

"He was in a good position, he was gonna be on the roster if we had won on Saturday," Hoyer said, clarifying that there wouldn't have been time to fully stretch the rookie out and he would have been relegated to a couple innings at a time.

"He was throwing bullpens by the end, so the expectation is that he has a totally normal offseason. He may rest it a bit now to let that rib continue to heal...given how much of a competitor he is, I was sad for him that he didn't get to pitch in the postseason and that's gonna be his No. 1 goal moving forward."

Hoyer went on to praise the young star for the season he was able to have before he injured his rib at the worst possible time, making it very clear that Horton is seen as a critical piece of this rotation moving forward.

Horton Could Be Cubs Ace Next Season

Horton was absolutely ridiculous down the stretch for Chicago, pitching to a 1.03 ERA and 0.78 WHIP with a record of 8-1 in his 12 starts after the All-Star break. Seemingly getting stronger with each passing start, next year could be the campaign Horton establishes himself as a household name across Major League Baseball.

The 24-year-old has shown legitimate ace potential with a 2.67 ERA in 23 starts, and he did it while on a rookie innings limit. If he can prove to be ready for a larger workload while still keeping the same level of production, Horton is going to lead this rotation to big things in 2026.

In order to do that, though, he's going to have to be healthy. While things may have been different against Milwaukee. Had Horton been able to go, the Cubs decision to hold him out was the right call.

For as much as it stung to be missing their best pitcher in the playoffs, the long-term outlook of Horton was more important, and by the sounds of it, the team believes he is going to be full go this winter as he prepares to carry the load next spring.