Chicago White Sox, Cubs Swap Pitching Prospects Matt Thompson and Bailey Horn

The Chicago White Sox have traded right-handed pitcher Matt Thompson to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for left-handed pitcher Bailey Horn, the team announced Tuesday afternoon.

The Athletic's Sahadev Sharma and Ken Rosenthal were first to report the swap.

As a result of the move, the Cubs now have room on their 40-man roster to officially re-sign All-Star slugger Cody Bellinger, according to Sharma. The White Sox, meanwhile, placed right-handed pitcher Jesse Scholtens on the 60-day injured list in order to make room for Horn.

Sources tell @Ken_Rosenthal and me that the Cubs have traded LHP Bailey Horn to the White Sox for RHP Matt Thompson. Clears a spot on the 40-man for Cody Bellinger once his signing becomes official.
— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) February 27, 2024

The White Sox initially selected Horn out of Auburn in the fifth round of the 2020 MLB Draft. They traded him to the Cubs in exchange for veteran pitcher Ryan Tepera in July 2021.

Horn, who is 11-9 with a 4.20 ERA and 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings in his minor league career, has been at the Cubs' big league camp in Arizona. In two appearances, he has recorded two strikeouts without allowing a run in 2.0 innings of work.

The White Sox, who also play their Spring Training exhibitions in the Cactus league, will be acquiring a 26-year-old reliever who finished 2023 at the Triple-A level.

In return, the Cubs will be getting a 23-year-old starting pitcher in Thompson. The righty was the White Sox's second round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, and he has gone 12-31 with a 5.09 ERA and 9.3 strikeouts per nine innings since turning pro that year.

Thompson spent all of 2023 in Double-A, going 6-15 in his 27 starts.

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