Cade Horton Undergoes Full TJ, Expected to Miss 15-16 Months

As manager Craig Counsell told reporters prior to Friday’s game, Cade Horton underwent a full Tommy John surgery on Thursday. That means his UCL revision procedure included a complete replacement of the ligament rather than using an internal brace to reinforce it. Justin Steele‘s surgery last year was of the internal brace variety, which is why his recovery has been a little quicker.

The expectation for Horton, who previously underwent a UCL replacement in 2021 at the University of Oklahoma, is that he’ll be out 15-16 months. That could mean he’ll be back in time for the stretch run in 2027, assuming they’re actually playing baseball.

“When something like this happens, the only thing you can do is kind of worry about what’s next,” Counsell said. “If you put your head on some big time frame, that’s not very helpful. With Cade, we talked about just worrying about today and make today the best you can, and just keep doing that.”

The Cubs also announced on Friday that closer Daniel Palencia has been placed on the IL with a left oblique injury. Such fun times, man.