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White Sox Acquire Bailey Horn From Cubs

By Steve Adams | February 27, 2024 at 12:20pm CDT

The White Sox and Cubs have agreed on a trade sending left-hander Bailey Horn from the Cubs to the Sox in exchange for minor league righty Matt Thompson, per announcements from both clubs. Sahadev Sharma and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported on the deal prior to the official announcement. Sharma reported last night that the Cubs were exploring deals to trade a pitcher off the back end of their 40-man roster, in order to open a spot for the newly re-signed Cody Bellinger.

Horn, 26, will return to the club that originally selected him in the fifth round of the 2020 draft. He pitched in the Sox’ system for a portion of the 2021 season but was traded to the Cubs in exchange for veteran reliever Ryan Tepera just over a year after being drafted. Current Sox general manager Chris Getz was the team’s farm director in 2020-21 and clearly saw plenty in Horn to like, given that he’s now reacquired the lefty.

Horn split the 2023 season between the Cubs’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, pitching to a combined 4.21 ERA in 65 innings out of the bullpen. He fanned a hearty 28.7% of his opponents but struggled with his command, issuing walks at a 12.5% clip. Baseball America ranked him 28th among Cubs farmhands this season, touting a fastball that sits 94-96 mph and a pair of potentially above-average breaking balls (a plus slider and a solid curveball). However, BA’s report also noted that Horn has a “violent arm action that yields well below-average control and significant injury risk.”

Now back with the South Siders, Horn will give the Sox a near-term option in the bullpen. He’s pitched exclusively in relief in each of the past two seasons and was only just added to the 40-man roster this offseason, meaning he has a full slate of three minor league option years remaining.

In exchange for Horn, the Cubs will receive the 23-year-old Thompson — a starting pitching prospect whom the White Sox selected in the second round of the 2019 draft. He started 27 games at the Double-A level in ’23, pitching to a 4.85 ERA with a 23.9% strikeout rate, 15% walk rate and 40.7% ground-ball rate. Scouting reports on Thompson tout a heater that reaches 97 mph and a potentially plus curveball, but like Horn he’s working to overcome below-average command. Baseball America tabbed him 30th among ChiSox prospects heading into the 2024 season.

Much like Horn, Thompson is a project who’s reached the upper minors but will likely need to make some refinements before earning a look at the MLB level. He’s pitched 109 and 124 innings, respectively, over the past two seasons. He could join the rotation in Double-A Tennessee or in Triple-A Iowa and will provide the Cubs with some upper-level rotation depth. The Cubs are increasingly deep in that regard, with names like Jordan Wicks, Hayden Wesneski, Ben Brown and Javier Assad all in the mix for their final rotation spot, and top prospect Cade Horton rapidly climbing the organizational ladder.

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Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox Transactions Bailey Horn Matt Thompson

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49 Comments

  1. Logjammer D"Baggagecling

    1 year ago

    Is Matt Thompson any good?

    Reply
    • roob

      1 year ago

      No

      3
      Reply
      • avenger65

        1 year ago

        STOP THE PRESSES!! Another who cares trade of two players no one’s ever heard of without taking a look at BR.

        Reply
        • johnrealtime

          1 year ago

          Some of us enjoy minor baseball transactions

          3
          Reply
      • Banix12

        1 year ago

        No with the caveat that while the Sox have made strides in their pitching infrastructure, the Cubs pitching infrastructure/analytics department is far superior at this point.

        I wouldn’t be shocked if the cubs unlock something in him that the Sox couldn’t.

        2
        Reply
        • Dumpster Divin Theo

          1 year ago

          I wouldn’t be shocked (shocked!) if the Sox unlock something in him that the Cubs couldn’t.

          2
          Reply
        • Aaron Sapoznik

          1 year ago

          Or that the Sox couldn’t unlock in Horn the first time around. lol

          2
          Reply
        • thefallensoldier

          1 year ago

          Trash Grabbin Getz!!

          1
          Reply
  2. Jump 84

    1 year ago

    Stove still hot for Southside.

    3
    Reply
  3. baked mcbride

    1 year ago

    If I were a White Sox fan, I’d be horny about this deal.

    3
    Reply
  4. thefallensoldier

    1 year ago

    Lmao white sox

    Reply
  5. msqboxer

    1 year ago

    Thompson control issues only 22, so maybe a little potential upside. CWS stockpiling mid level LH pitchers , don’t think either one was considered Top 25 prospects.

    Reply
  6. User 2161944466

    1 year ago

    Should have kept Horn and traded Bellinger

    4
    Reply
    • Logjammer D"Baggagecling

      1 year ago

      That’s makes no sense. They moved Horn to make room for Bellinger. Did you not read the article?

      3
      Reply
      • dray16

        1 year ago

        I sensed sarcasm not lack of reading

        4
        Reply
        • Logjammer D"Baggagecling

          1 year ago

          I sensed ignorance witb a splash of lack of reading

          Reply
        • Dumpster Divin Theo

          1 year ago

          I sensed milquetoast with a dash of herbal tea

          2
          Reply
        • rememberthecoop

          1 year ago

          No, Logjammer, Drayton is 100% right here. How could you not know that was sarcasm? Seriously, as a fellow Cubs fan guys like you make us look so bad!

          3
          Reply
        • Logjammer D"Baggagecling

          1 year ago

          Sorry. I was “reading a good book” 😉
          when I wrote that.

          Reply
    • avenger65

      1 year ago

      Catfish: That’s what I thought at first, that the cubs only signed bellinger because no one else would. Then they’d flip him to another team for a player of equal value. Oh, well

      3
      Reply
      • rememberthecoop

        1 year ago

        Again. Sarcasm people!! jeez…

        2
        Reply
  7. Augusto Barojas

    1 year ago

    I’m sure this will be among the many moves the Sox make that nobody will care about in this season or any other.

    1
    Reply
    • avenger65

      1 year ago

      Augusto: I think you’re being a bit hasty. After all, they have won one game out of four and will likely get pounded by the Dodgers today. My question is, how do the Sox split their squad to play B games? They’re all at most C level players.

      1
      Reply
    • DeepDownSouth

      1 year ago

      Why come here & complain if you don’t care? Redonkulis babycake

      2
      Reply
  8. soxygen

    1 year ago

    Violent arm action with well below-average control and significant injury risk? Sounds fun, which is more than I can say for a lot of the new guys!

    2
    Reply
    • Aaron Sapoznik

      1 year ago

      A southpaw Carson Fulmer redux!

      1
      Reply
  9. Yanks2

    1 year ago

    Probably the weirdest name I’ve ever seen

    Reply
    • Murphy NFLD

      1 year ago

      RJ Umberger was a name i always thought was awesome in the NHL. There are few really good names if u look into it

      Reply
      • Yanks2

        1 year ago

        Taylor Teagarden

        Reply
  10. cwsOverhaul

    1 year ago

    Bannister must think Thompson is a mess to fix being he was given up for a poor command guy several years older the WSox already had.
    That is unfortunate for a 2nd rounder.

    Reply
  11. Old York

    1 year ago

    Sorry to hear he has to remain in Chicago.

    3
    Reply
    • rememberthecoop

      1 year ago

      Sorry to hear you’re posting this. Picking on one of the greatest cities in the world?

      2
      Reply
      • riffraff

        1 year ago

        no – he was picking on Chicago

        2
        Reply
    • johnrealtime

      1 year ago

      Neither of these players have ever played in Chicago

      Reply
  12. Dogbone

    1 year ago

    I’ve seen Horn pitch a couple times. Last time in the AzFL. I think he can become a decent arm in a MLB pen. The Sox may have made a nice move here.

    1
    Reply
  13. dano62

    1 year ago

    White Sox doing their darndest to get Chicagoans all excited about a fabled move to Nashville…

    Reply
    • Aiden Awe

      1 year ago

      Stop with the Nashville bs. They aren’t moving unless for some reason the SL plan fails.

      4
      Reply
    • Old York

      1 year ago

      They need to move to Asia. Bigger market and more of a future than Nashville or Chicago.

      1
      Reply
      • Aiden Awe

        1 year ago

        Asia is interesting.

        1
        Reply
      • rememberthecoop

        1 year ago

        At least it isn’t New York!

        1
        Reply
  14. Aaron Sapoznik

    1 year ago

    The Cubs and White Sox do hook up on a deal, more of the appetizer variety than the entrée I was hoping for earlier today. lol

    Reply
    • mike127

      1 year ago

      Saps—more like Horn is the DFA guy—anybody out there want first dibs on him?

      Bellinger and whoever Matt Thompson is for Horn seems like a good swap of roster usage for the Cubs.

      1
      Reply
  15. Dumpster Divin Theo

    1 year ago

    Violent arm action: who knew baseball was such a violent game?

    Reply
  16. Aiden Awe

    1 year ago

    Welcome back Bailey Horn:)

    Reply
    • Fred K. Burke

      1 year ago

      Bailey Horn-The perfect name for an NFL QB on the practice squad.

      1
      Reply
  17. LambchoP

    1 year ago

    Seems like every pitching prospect is the same now days. Throws hard, strikes out a lot of guys, but walks a ton of guys. No control, high chance of injury…

    7
    Reply
  18. dopt

    1 year ago

    Thompson will be good.

    Reply
    • Aiden Awe

      1 year ago

      He was meh last season. Same thing with Horn.

      Reply
  19. Wheeler Dealer

    1 year ago

    Cubs got burned again

    1
    Reply

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