Cubs' Jed Hoyer not second-guessing how team handled Cade Horton: What we're hearing

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In hindsight, though, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer isn’t second-guessing how the organization tried to develop Horton and manage the situation. “Guys are throwing 96, 97 (mph) with great stuff,” Hoyer said before Friday afternoon’s 2-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field. “You have to let them go pitch. When I look back, I don’t have any thoughts or regrets about how we handled him, because we were so conservative. And, obviously, he broke down, so I just think that is the nature of pitching in 2026.” Horton, now 24, was once the organization’s most celebrated pitching prospect in a generation. The Cubs selected him with the No. 7 pick in the 2022 draft, knowing he had already had Tommy John surgery and projecting the elite performance he delivered while helping lead Oklahoma to the College World Series. As a two-way baseball player and one-time football recruit, Horton wound up throwing only 53 2/3 innings in college. He pitched for three minor-league affiliates in 2023, finishing with 88 1/3 innings. An abbreviated 2024 season led to some mechanical adjustments and a slow-paced program during spring training last year. The deliberate approach paid off with a breakout 2025 season that saw Horton (11-4, 2.67 ERA) finish second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting. That momentum, however, did not carry into October, as a fractured right rib sidelined him for the club’s two postseason series. “When I look back on our progression with him, we didn’t pitch him the year when we drafted him,” Hoyer said. “In ’23, we could not have been more conservative with how we threw him. Obviously, he spent a lot of time on the IL in ’24. And then last year, we used him, but certainly we were really careful with his pitch counts. We didn’t push him.” Indeed, Horton did not reach the 100-pitch mark in a single outing last season, and he completed the seventh inning only once. This year, all the Cubs will have to show for that prudence is one win and 7 1/3 innings. “We were unbelievably conservative with him since we drafted him,” Hoyer said. “I know how hard he had worked. I know how hard we had worked to get him to this point. He looked fantastic. These things happen; it’s part of a baseball season. I feel terrible for him. I know he’ll come back strong. But I’m sure that’s of little solace to him right now.” Lucas Giolito, a one-time All-Star with the Chicago White Sox, is the biggest name still available as a free agent. But his self-evaluation hasn’t yet lined up with the prevailing view across the industry. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have sat out all of spring training and the first two-plus weeks of the regular season. During that time, the Cubs shut down Horton and placed Opening Day starter Matthew Boyd on the injured list with a strained left biceps, diminishing the depth the organization had assiduously created. “We’re always looking externally,” Hoyer said. “There’s still guys available, so we’ll certainly have those conversations.” Giolito, 31, went 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA in 26 starts for the Boston Red Sox last year. It’s just not clear whether he would represent a substantial upgrade over swingmen such as Colin Rea and Javier Assad. Making a deal for a starter now could also narrow the possibilities around the trade deadline. Boyd expects this to be a minimal stint on the injured list. By early June, the Cubs hope to activate Justin Steele, a homegrown All-Star who’s coming back from elbow surgery. The Cubs have also shown the value of under-the-radar moves early in the season. Last April, it was grabbing lefty reliever Drew Pomeranz, who had used the upward mobility clause in his contract to leave the Seattle Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate. In May 2024, the Cubs executed a minor trade with the Mariners for Tyson Miller, who posted a 2.15 ERA in 49 appearances out of Chicago’s bullpen. “We’re always looking at stuff, and there’s still some free agents out there, so we’d never stop that,” Hoyer said. “It’s also not something that is top of mind. But, certainly, we’re constantly looking for upgrades. You have to do that.” Jaxon Wiggins wasn’t in the short-term plans for the major-league rotation. As a pitching prospect, he isn’t as polished as Horton was during that stage of his career. In both cases, durability remains a concern. The Cubs are in a holding pattern with Wiggins, who last pitched for Triple-A Iowa on April 4. Without going into details, Hoyer described the issue as general arm soreness. “Nothing alarming,” Hoyer said. “You don’t want to push guys in April, so we felt like the right thing to do was push his start back a little bit.” The Cubs selected Wiggins in the second round of the 2023 draft, even though he did not pitch for the University of Arkansas that year while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Wiggins is a 6-foot-6 right-hander with high-end velocity and interesting breaking stuff. Before he can become an X factor for the major-league club, he has to stay healthy, and his command must improve. The Cubs expected Phil Maton to be a high-leverage reliever when they signed him to a two-year, $14.5 million contract this past offseason. Both the size and timing of the deal — the two sides reached an agreement before Thanksgiving — showed a different level of commitment. This front office usually finds bullpen answers through the roster churn of minor-league signings and bounce-back candidates. In contrast, Maton was coming off a strong season, and teams in the playoff hunt had acquired him in each of the past two summers. Clearly, it’s been a disappointing start for Maton, whose 13.50 ERA through five appearances might be partially explained by the right knee tendinitis that landed him on the 15-day injured list before Friday’s game. “The velocity was down,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “It was just a case of not being able to sit into his back leg and drive off the mound. It clearly affected him. We need to get rid of that. He’s dealt with this issue in the past. We just need to get that out of there and get him back to normal.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Patrick Mooney is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball. He spent eight seasons covering the Cubs across multiple platforms for NBC Sports Chicago/Comcast SportsNet, beginning in 2010. He has been a frequent contributor to MLB Network, Baseball America, MLB.com and the Chicago Sun-Times News Group. Follow Patrick on Twitter @PJ_Mooney