Chicago Cubs Acquire Talented Prospect in Trade With White Sox
The front office of the Chicago Cubs have done a great job at rebuilding their pipeline. Now considered one of the top farm systems in the league, many of their elite prospects are on the verge of making their MLB debuts.
When that happens, it's imperative that the organization continues to reload talent.
The Cubs have seemingly done in a trade with the Chicago White Sox.
According to Sahadev Sharma and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Chicago will receive pitcher Matt Thompson in exchange for pitcher Bailey Horn.
Thompson was rated as the White Sox's No. 25 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline.
The right-hander was taken in the second round of the 2019 MLB Draft and has flashed high-end talent throughout his minor league career, but his inconsistency on the mound has haunted him.
It didn't help that Thompson only pitched two innings in two years because the 2020 season was canceled, but his command has been a major issue with his BB/9 rate sitting at 4.7.
He's appeared in 74 games in the minors, all starts, and has posted an ERA of 5.09.
Horn was once a trade chip between these two teams back in 2021 after originally being drafted by the White Sox.
Now, after a season in 2023 where he appeared in 39 Triple-A games, all in relief, he'll be heading back to the team that selected him in the fifth round of the MLB Draft.
Sharma notes that this deal was done in large part to create a roster spot for Cody Bellinger, as the Cubs will start Thompson out in their farm system and have their developmental team work with the talented pitcher.
This could turn out to be a very underrated trade for Chicago as they deal a pitcher, who likely wouldn't factor into the roster during the 2024 season, to create room for their star slugger and also get back a promising starting prospect.
