Cade Horton's emergence brings mixed feelings after the trade deadline

Chicago Cubs starter Cade Horton has been very effective in his last five starts, making the team's trade deadline approach a mixed bag of emotions.

The Cubs obviously failed to acquire an impact starting pitcher this year when they needed to get a guy capable of starting Game 1 or 2 of a playoff series to compete with a stacked National League. And the only guy they did get - Michael Soroka - was put on the injured list after tossing two innings.

The disappointing deadline is offset a bit by Horton's emergence, as the 23-year-old rookie has lowered his season ERA to 3.18. Since the beginning of July, Horton has also turned in five scoreless starts where he has pitched at least five innings. There were definitely teams asking for Horton at the deadline, and although it was disappointing that the Cubs were unable to make a big trade, holding onto Horton was a smart play for the future.

Horton has the tools to become a frontline pitcher over the next few seasons, as long as he can stay healthy. The Cubs have been understandably cautious with Horton's pitch count this year, and his contributions for the rest of the season are difficult to project.

Cade Horton has limitations this year

Although Horton was dealing in his recent start against the Cincinnati Reds - where he made it to the sixth inning without surrendering a run - Craig Counsell yanked him after just 67 pitches. Between Triple-A and the majors, Horton has tossed 108 innings in 2025, the most he's ever thrown as a pro. The rookie's body is not accustomed to the workload of a full major league season yet, not to mention he is coming off a shoulder injury that limited him to just 34.1 innings last year.

Limiting his pitches is the smart play to preserve Horton's health for the future, because the team is clearly banking on him morphing into an ace-level starting pitcher. It's certainly possible because Horton has the arsenal and talent to take another step forward, but it's hard to imagine the Cubs giving him the ball to start a playoff game.

Ideally, the Cubs will use Horton out of the bullpen in October. But that depends on Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad returning to form after they rehab from their respective injuries. Assad looked sharp in his last rehab start, allowing one earned run over 4 1/3 innings. Taillon didn't have as much luck since he surrendered seven runs for the Iowa Cubs on Aug. 3.

All of this uncertainty with the Cubs' rotation could have been mitigated with a big splash like Joe Ryan or Edward Cabrera. But the Cubs played it safe and prioritized the future over the 2025 season. Let's hope it pays off and Horton does indeed emerge as a frontline ace.