CHICAGO — Had the Cubs advanced to the NL Championship Series, fans would have finally seen Cade Horton return to action.

“He was in a good position,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said in his end-of-season press conference on Wednesday. “He was going to be on the (NLCS) roster if we won on Saturday.  He wouldn’t have been stretched out to pitch more than a couple of innings. But that was our plan — to be able to use him.”

Watch Jed Hoyer’s full end-of-season press conference only on the Marquee Sports Network app.

While the Cubs couldn’t take Game 5 of the NL Division Series and keep their World Series hopes alive, it’s a relief for both the Cubs and for Horton that the standout rookie pitcher was on the right track. Before a right rib fracture put the 23-year-old out of commission for the entirety of the Cubs’ playoff run, Horton put up Rookie of the Year-caliber numbers: A 2.67 ERA, 11-4 record and 1.08 WHIP over 118 innings only scratched the surface of the right-hander’s potential in MLB.

That’s why it’s no surprise that Horton’s presence was sorely missed in the end.

“He wanted to pitch so badly,” Hoyer said. “I think that was one of the hardest parts of that whole situation, that he tried. He tried to push through it, and we just realized there was no way to do it.”

[What Cade Horton took away from Cubs playoff run]

Horton is no stranger to navigating an offseason after injury.

As a freshman at the University of Oklahoma in 2021, Horton underwent Tommy John surgery following an injury to his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) and missed the entirety of his first college season.

Last season, Horton had only just been promoted to Triple-A Iowa in May when a shoulder strain and subsequent setback in August shut him down for the season. He had made just five starts with the I-Cubs and threw 34.1 innings across Double-A and Triple-A.

That shortened 2024 thus limited his workload in 2025 after he threw more innings this season than in his first two minor league seasons combined. Horton was often pulled from games early, even when his pitch count was low and he was dominating opposing lineups. The Cubs were adamant in protecting the development of their young ace.

But those injury concerns of years past no longer hang over Horton’s head. Even with his rib fracture, Horton was already throwing bullpen sessions by the tail end of the Cubs’ playoff run. And now, he’s poised to have a healthy offseason.

“The expectation is that he has a totally normal offseason,” Hoyer said. “He may rest it a bit now to let that rib continue to heal — but he was exceptional.

“I was sad for him that he didn’t get to pitch in the postseason, and I know that’s going to be his number one goal. But (it was) just a great development year. Great job by Cade, great job by the coaching staff with him, and (I’m) just excited for things going forward.”