Chicago Cubs

Cade Horton

SP

Horton was pulled from his start Friday after tweaking his forearm in the second inning. He's set to travel back to Chicago and undergo imaging in the next few days, at which point the details of his injury will be available, but the Cubs have already decided to hold him out for at least a couple of weeks. It's unclear who will replace the 24-year-old in the rotation, though Ben Brown is a likely candidate to move from the bullpen.

Seiya Suzuki

RF

Counsell expects the rehab assignment to last 3-to-7 days, setting Suzuki up to make his season debut next week, either on the road against the Rays or at home versus the Pirates. Suzuki is working his way back from a strained PCL in his right knee, an injury he suffered in mid-March while playing for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic.

Jeff Brigham

RP

Brigham made four relief appearances for the Diamondbacks last season, yielding three runs over 3.1 innings. He'll turn 34 in February and has collected a 4.85 ERA over 94 appearances (four starts) covering parts of six big-league seasons. Brigham is likely to begin the 2026 season as relief depth at Triple-A Iowa.

Justin Steele

SP

Steele is progressing as anticipated after undergoing UCL revision surgery back on April 18, 2025, but he'll still need at least the first two months of the 2026 season to complete the lengthy recovery process. The southpaw checked off a major box in his rehab program by facing live hitters in batting practice sessions just under two weeks ago. He'll likely continue to gradually increase the volume and intensity of his pitching in live BP sessions and simulated games over at least the next few weeks before eventually embarking on an extended minor-league rehab assignment.

Porter Hodge

RP

Hodge came down with a right flexor strain in early March. He is aiming to play catch around April 1, but he'll have been shut down nearly a month by that time so the buildup will take a while.