Cubs’ Cade Horton rewarding club’s faith in him at the trade deadline

As the Cubs were searching for an impact starting pitcher who was under control beyond this season, one name kept coming up in trade talks: Cade Horton. But team president Jed Hoyer just wasn’t willing to part with the rookie pitcher, especially since those asks included other top prospects.

“He came up in some trade discussions,” Hoyer said. “To trade a guy (like) him with his amount of control to get a guy with less control, it didn’t make a lot of sense, along with a bunch of other pieces as well.”

Getting two-plus years of MacKenzie Gore or Joe Ryan would have been huge for this team. But would subtracting Horton, for not only this season but a half decade beyond, been worth it? The Cubs clearly didn’t think so.

How does Horton internalize the fact that the Cubs weren’t willing to part with him at the deadline?

“It means a lot,” Horton said. “I feel like I just wanna go out there, do my job and help this team win. We got a really good group in there. Just being able to do my part, whatever’s asked of me, is the big thing.”

Horton is doing more than his part.

In a rotation that’s lost Justin Steele for the season, was missing Shota Imanaga for nearly two months, hasn’t had Javier Assad all year and has been without Jameson Taillon since late June, Horton has been a rock.

In Wednesday’s 6-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, Horton was dominant. The rookie tossed 5⅔ scoreless innings, striking out six and walking none, having allowed just two hits. He needed just 67 pitches to get through his start and was pulled because the Cubs continue to monitor what’s already a career-high workload.

“We want a healthy Cade Horton,” manager Craig Counsell said. “We want a strong Cade Horton for the rest of the season. So we’re going to have to make some tough decisions, that’s just part of it. It’s the right thing to do for the team and for Cade.”

Horton understands the thinking, and while he said he feels good, he knows there’s more at stake to consider. His focus is just taking the ball when it’s given to him and attacking hitters while he’s on the mound.

As a former top prospect, Horton has had pressure on him to produce for a while. He entered last season as arguably the best pitching prospect in baseball. But a shoulder injury cut his season short, limiting him to just 34⅓ innings.

This spring, he came into camp determined to stay healthy with a cleaned-up delivery and a focus on getting back to the pitcher he’d been early in his professional career. The one who showed enough promise to get drafted by the Cubs seventh overall in 2022. His previous success is what he draws upon to build himself up and make sure he believes he can always get the job done.

“There has to be a level of confidence just to have success in this league,” Horton said. “It’s a really hard league. If you don’t believe in yourself, then it’s going to be even harder.”

Recently, Horton has made this “really hard league” look easy. The righty hasn’t allowed a run in 23⅓ innings. Over his last six starts, he has a 1.05 ERA. The Cubs clung to Horton because they see him as someone who continues to improve as the season has gone along.

“Cade’s done a great job for us,” Hoyer said. “He’s developed really well and I think he’s going to get better. I think even from start to start, you see him make adjustments and make changes, you’re going to continue to see that improvement.”

Teammates and coaches have been most impressed by Horton’s poise. Near the end of June, Horton had his worst start of his career in Houston. He gave up seven earned runs in four innings, allowing a pair of homers and walking four. He’s made six starts since, with five of them being scoreless outings.

“I feel like that terrible start in Houston made him better,” Hoyer said. “It didn’t scare him off, it didn’t bother him. I feel like he has the make up to handle big starts and big moments and he has the athleticism and feel to get better.”

Horton’s mental toughness is rare for a rookie. Pitchers are going to have bad outings. They’re going to give up home runs and they’re going to walk batters. What you do next is how you’ll be judged. Horton is able to control the moment and not let the bad take over in his mind or on the field.

“There’s a discipline to Cade about what’s important to him,” Counsell said. “And that also means what’s not important to him, blocking out the stuff that’s not important. You’re a little stubborn about the things that matter to you. That’s how you keep clear-headed and don’t let outside things or smaller things get in your way. That’s what Cade is good at.”

Counsell has repeatedly compared Horton to Steele as someone who is able to flush mistakes almost immediately and move on to the next moment. For Steele, it was a process to find that mindset. For Horton, he’s seemingly had it since the moment he arrived in the big leagues.

“It’s really impressive,” catcher Carson Kelly said. “The first time he got called up and threw his first game, you could just see he was in control of everything. Even when guys are on base, the poise that he had, you’re seeing that play right now as well.”

Hoyer didn’t make the splashy addition at the trade deadline. There’s no ace being brought in to team up with Imanaga and Matthew Boyd. But there seems to be a belief in Horton right now that he can do special things. That’s partly why Hoyer was unwilling to part with him at the deadline.

After dominating in the College World Series with Oklahoma, the Cubs became enamored with Horton. Despite a brief college career due to injury, they were betting on the flashes he showed during those final months when he stepped up in the biggest moments. Now they’re hoping he can continue to deliver over the final two months of the season and into October.

“He’s making a big impact right now,” Counsell said. “That’s what’s important. We got a long way to go.”

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