Jed Hoyer defends Cubs' Cade Horton blueprint while injury creates false narrative

Cade Horton's injury has led some to second-guess how the Chicago Cubs handled his promotion last season. In 23 appearances (22 starts) with the Cubs last year, Horton totaled 118 innings pitched. It was easily the most innings he had during a single season at any level of the Cubs' organization since being drafted by the team in 2022.

Horton underwent Tommy John surgery before being drafted by the Cubs, and after, most of his 2024 season was spent dealing with shoulder and back injuries. He pitched 29 innings with the Iowa Cubs before his promotion, and there were no signs that suggested the Cubs were tempting fate with how they chose to deploy him upon his debut.

Injuries to Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele necessitated the Cubs keeping Horton in the rotation, considering there was some early thought they could move him to the bullpen at the end of the season to limit his innings even further. By that point, Horton was the budding ace of the rotation and vying for the National League Rookie of the Year.

No, the Cubs didn't overwork Cade Horton last year

It's also important to note that Horton only exceeded 90 pitches in 4 of his 23 appearances last year. In fact, during the final two months of the season, he only eclipsed 80 pitches twice.

The Cubs were mindful of his workload last season, and it's the reason why Jed Hoyer stressed to reporters on Friday that he has no regrets over how the team handled his development plan.

“When I look back, I don’t have any thoughts or regrets about how we handled him because we were so conservative,” Hoyer told reporters. “Obviously, he broke down. I just think that is the nature of pitching in 2026. It’s a hard part. You have to build up a lot of depth. We just have to have a next-guy-up mentality.”

It would have been a different story if Horton had been routinely pitching into the seventh inning of his starts last year while approaching the 100-pitch marker. That wasn't the case. Sure, there were times that Craig Counsell may have slightly extended the leash, but for the most part, they stuck to the plan. That is why there was excitement for Horton this season, considering there was an expectation that the Cubs were going to ease up on the reins.

The injury to Horton is certainly deflating, but that isn't an excuse to create a version of the story where the Cubs are at fault.