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Cade Horton has been a massive part of the Cubs’ success this season.
Without the rookie right-hander’s work filling in for injured starters early in the campaign and the best-in-baseball numbers he put up after the All-Star break, the Cubs might not be preparing to play hosts in their opening-round playoff series against the Padres.
They might not be in the postseason at all.
But at the moment, that’s of little comfort to Horton, who will miss the wild-card round – and most, or perhaps all, of a potential NLDS – after the Cubs put him on the injured list with a rib fracture Saturday.