Latest Update on Cubs Ace Cade Horton's Injury is "Not Good"

The Chicago Cubs may be bracing for the absolute worst-case scenario on young star right-hander Cade Horton after he was pulled from a start with forearm discomfort last Friday.

Horton was quickly placed on the 15-day injured list with evaluation coming throughout the weekend, and a Monday update from GM Carter Hawkins did not sound optimistic. Now, a new report from a Chicago insider makes it sound like Cubs fans' worst fears could be coming true.

Jesse Rogers of ESPN hopped on ESPN Radio Chicago and painted a picture which sounds like a devastating announcement is coming from the team.

Rogers Says Cubs Are Thinking Tommy John for Horton

Chicago Cubs pitcher Cade Horton high fives teammates in dugou — Chicago Cubs pitcher Cade Horton | Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images

"The news to this point is not good," Rogers said. "I want to make sure I report it carefully here because no decision has been made. The MRI via multiple sources, not good, not clean, and so he is going to see Dr. Keith Meister today. That's the Tommy John guy, that's the guy that Justin Steele saw.

"We're headed down that path. Now, Dr. Meister might look at the MRI and say look, no surgery required. We'll do something else, rest him up and try some other things. But this is kind of the path the Cubs are on. So the news is really the MRI is not clean and he's going to see Dr. Keith Meister today to determine next actions. But you can kind of connect the dots here. I went back to my notes on Justin Steele, this is kind of how my reporting went on Justin Steele."

As Rogers said, nothing is guaranteed here for Horton, but a visit to Dr. Meister combined with an MRI that does not look clean appears to be multiple concerning things brewing together at once.

Cubs may not survive losing Horton for year

All offseason long, despite significant moves in the pitching staff, Jed Hoyer spoke about pitching keeping him up at night and wanting to add more, and what is happening to Horton and Matthew Boyd here early is exactly why.

Arm injuries have never been more common in this game, and it looks like Chicago is about to become the latest victim of the injury bug. It would be the second Tommy John for Horton, which would impact his long-term outlook as well, obviously losing an entire year.

An announcement seems to be coming soon, and Cubs fans had better prepare for the worst.