Insiders believe the Cubs made an interesting addition to their 40-man roster
The Chicago Cubs are always looking for ways to avoid paying relievers and by adding LHP Bailey Horn to the 40-man they may have found a solid solution to that problem.
MLB.com has listed LHP Bailey Horn as a prospect to keep an eye on after being added to the 40-man roster. Horn was our number 26 prospect heading into the 2024 season and we had this to say in our recent breakdown of the top 30 prospects in the system:
Horn is likely more valuable to the Cubs than just about any other organization in the league because of Jed Hoyer’s unwillingness to offer free agent relievers multi-year deals, so the six years of team control that Horn will have and his proximity to the majors cause him to be our 26th best Cubs prospect heading into the 2024 season.
The Cubs are always looking to improve, and adding a reliever to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft isn’t necessarily a sign that they believe in his ability to dominate in the late innings, but it’s encouraging to see that they have multiple young options in the minors to help the bullpen.
The only lefty with a better pedigree that is suited for the bullpen in 2024 that made our top prospects list was Luke Little who offers significantly more to dream of in terms of size and stuff. That being said, injuries happen and as we learned in a painful way last season: a tired bullpen is a useless bullpen so the more guys we have with the ability to step in and get outs, the better off the team will be as we push for a playoff appearance for the first time since the COVID-shortened 2020 season.