CHICAGO -- Cade Horton stood inside the quiet visitors’ clubhouse at American Family Field in Milwaukee, forced to discuss his season in the past tense. One more win for the Cubs, and the rookie pitcher could have been talking about a return for the National League Championship Series.

Following a sensational Major League debut season, Horton missed the NL Wild Card Series against the Padres and a Division Series against the Brewers due to a fluke right rib fracture . The right-hander was on the cusp of an October comeback when Chicago was eliminated by its rivals to the north.

“He was in a good position. He was going to be on the roster if we won,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said at the end of the season. “He wouldn’t have been stretched out to pitch more than a

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