Shota Imanaga is injured.
Yes, the Chicago Cubs' lone remaining southpaw ace injured his hamstring in a start against the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend — straining the same leg that forced him to exit his last start with "cramps" — and will almost certainly be forced to serve a stint on the injured list.
When fellow lefty rotation mate Justin Steele went down for the season with an elbow injury, I chastised the Cubs' front office for their failures to have in-house options capable of replacing him. I will do no such thing here.
For one, Steele's injury is long-term and will keep him out until 2026 at least. That's not something depth can solve on its own. Imanaga's injury — which, as Matt Trueblood examines, should only keep him out for a few weeks — is exactly why the Cubs built up the depth they did. Losing Steele for an entire season should make fans upset the team didn't seriously pursue Corbin Burnes or Max Fried over the winter. Losing Imanaga for a couple of starts should make fans happy the front office had the foresight to accrue plenty of depth to cover the next few weeks.
For a second thing, Imanaga's (hopeful) immediate replacement is actually capable of replicating his impact.
Shota Imanaga injury should pave way for Cade Horton in Chicago
With all due respect to Matthew Boyd (2.70 ERA) and Colin Rea (1.46 ERA), who have done brilliant work filling in for Steele and Javier Assad, the Cubs don't really have an ace as long as Imanaga is on the shelf.
What they do have is a top prospect with the potential to become an ace. Cade Horton is currently dominating Triple-A, and, despite needing a 40-man roster spot, should be the player called up to fill in for the Cubs' best starting pitcher.
In six starts (29.0 innings) this year, Horton has fired off a 1.24 ERA while allowing a scant .129/.241/.204 slash line from opposing hitters. His 12.0% walk rate is perhaps a tad concerning, but he's more than nullifying the free passes by striking out a whopping 30.6% of the hitters he faces.
Horton is no secret to Cubs fans or prospect gurus, but the righty's success in 2025 is a promising development after a mostly lost campaign in 2024 due to injury.
Now, the biggest knock on Horton since the Cubs drafted him seventh overall in 2022 is his lack of durability. He hasn't cracked 80 pitches in any start this year, and his career high in innings pitched is just 88.1. In terms of raw talent, he could fill in for Imanaga, but he won't be able to give the big league team the length it expects out of its best starter.
Understanding that, the team could always elect to recall a player already on the 40-man roster, such as Jordan Wicks. Chris Flexen, who has made 110 MLB starts in his career, could easily be flexed (pun intended) out of the bullpen for a couple of turns in the rotation.
But Horton is clearly the best option. He's more than ready to face big league hitters, if only as a test run before Imanaga returns.
The Cubs are one of the best teams in baseball this year. It'd be a shame to see them play it safe.