Article: Cubs Clear 40-Man Space: Trade Bailey Horn Back to the White Sox

[Jason Ross]

The Cubs and the White Sox have worked together and completed another trade, this time sending LHP Bailey Horn to the South Side in exchange for RHP Matt Thompson. Who is Matt Thompson and why did the Cubs make this kind of trade?

Image courtesy of © Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

On Tuesday, the Cubs traded left-handed pitcher Bailey Horn to the Chicago White Sox for right-handed pitcher Matt Thompson.  Horn, 26, was a fifth round pick of the White Sox back in 2020 out of Auburn. The Cubs acquired the southpaw reliever when they sent Ryan Tepera to the Sox in the summer of 2021.

Protected by the Cubs in November 2023 with his addition to the 40-man roster, Horn now makes his way back to his original organization. Despite striking out a hitter per inning in Triple-A and some fairly dazzling stuff, Horn never found the consistency to throw enough strikes for a callup for the Cubs. The White Sox, in their rebuilding era, likely have more of a pathway to making parent club than the Cubs.

Coming back the Cubs' way is right-handed pitcher Matt Thompson. Thompson was regarded highly in the 2019 draft, being picked 45th overall out of high school and commanding a signing bonus north of $2 million. Sadly for the righty, success at the minor-league level has not come easy. Much like the aforementioned Horn, Thompson did not find the strike zone enough for the White Sox to see a future for him in their system.

There's enough in Thompson's profile to like; a decent fastball that can hit 95mph, and a plus curveball. The a switch to a relief role seems likely to be considered. The Cubs have a better developmental system for pitchers in place than the White Sox. So while it'd be pretty hard to predict future success for a prospect who's fallen on hard times, Thompson is only 23 years old and could still find success with some tweaks. He's an intriguing add for the Cubs, and a name it wouldn't be shocking to see pop up some day.

The need for this type of a move was created when the Cubs re-signed Cody Bellinger to a three year, $80 million contract very early on Sunday morning. With the 40-man roster full, the Cubs needed to clear a space so that the Bellinger contract could become official. Names such as Keegan Thompson and Patrick Wisdom were thought to be on the chopping block, but it was Bailey Horn who got his name called in the end. Matthew Thompson, on the other hand, does not take up a 40-man roster spot, giving the Cubs an interesting prospect with a pedigree and the ability to add Cody Bellinger to the official 40 man roster.

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[CubinNY]

I like it. Although the Cubs have not had much success with control/command. I do have much more faith in their development group than the Sox. 

[LBiittner]

Nice write about 

Edited February 27, 2024 by LBiittner

[Post Count Padder]

Exactly what I expected them to do. This seems like a "get him in the pitch lab and see what we can work with" kinda guy. And maybe move him to the pen and see if the numbers play up. Bummed to lose an interesting lefty in Horn but overall it's a smart move.

[Jason Ross]

51 minutes ago, LBiittner said:

Nice write about 

Appreciate it! 

[Rex Buckingham]

This leaves Little and Smyly as the only LHRP options on the 40-man... not sure who the NRI lefties are... And obviously they have confidence in Leiter (if his splitter is working), Merryweather, etc. against lefties too

[Transmogrified Tiger]

16 minutes ago, Rex Buckingham said:

This leaves Little and Smyly as the only LHRP options on the 40-man... not sure who the NRI lefties are... And obviously they have confidence in Leiter (if his splitter is working), Merryweather, etc. against lefties too

Lovelady, Pannone, and Escobar are the NRI's that I'm aware of, there might be another one or two I can't recall.

[Rcal10]

2 hours ago, Transmogrified Tiger said:

Lovelady, Pannone, and Escobar are the NRI's that I'm aware of, there might be another one or two I can't recall.

Of them, I feel Lovelady has the best chance. 

[Stratos]

2 hours ago, TomtheBombadil said:

Thompson’s a pretty nifty get for Bailey Horn and/or I really like the say prospecting fundamentals the FO showed with this deal. A (then) healthy 22 YO throwing 129 IP in AA with more than a K/9 has a ton going on for them. That’s terrific raw arm strength and conditioning compared to what’s mostn out there, throw in some draft pedigree, some feel for secondaries, and that’s alot of ingredients for a long time MLer in this game.

This is definitely putting the cart before the horse but I actually like this part of The Future 2.0 so will mention it: If he really does well and continues to develop even into the MLs, someone may give him a shot to start down the line. Nominally good dims and pedigree are there now, strength and conditioning continues to improve, stuff is something that can improve to some extent, and even if the control isn’t so riveting the workloads suggest some command, aptitude, and pitchability to go with the health. In a meta good RPs increasingly use/need 3 or more pitches anyway, the Cubs getting better than others at developing RP to SP candidates at the ML level is something I’d like to see (think of the potential arb years trade Value or if the FA comp pick system changes to a more NFL-y one) 

 

His K's should improve if they decide to turn him into a reliever, so don't mind the trade at all.

[Jason Ross]

8 hours ago, Stratos said:

His K's should improve if they decide to turn him into a reliever, so don't mind the trade at all.

They may, they may not. I don't really subscribe to the idea that simply because someone becomes a reliever they automatically get better at things like strikeouts and swings and misses. The reality is that the bullpen can begin to hide issues like consistency and command (shorter sample size, easier to pull the plug when it's not working) but K's are more dependent on what pitches you have, how you used it and the like. 

I can't say I know a lot about Thompson. Profile looks interesting enough that a reliever is on the table. But how he uses his fastball in the zone, where does he miss with the curveball...these things will determine far more if his K's should or shouldn't be expected to improve. I think the bullpen will help hide the walks, but beyond that...he's a pretty big mystery. Not complaining, mind, you, I think he's as good of a return as you could hope for...just disagreeing on the concept of K development being likely with a change or a move.