Cubs Trade Ryan Tepera to White Sox for LHP Bailey Horn

As Robert Murray of FanSided was first to report, the Cubs have agreed to trade Ryan Tepera to the White Sox. The Cubs subsequently formalized the deal, announcing that they are receiving minor league lefty Bailey Horn in return.

The Chicago White Sox are in agreement on a deal to acquire reliever Ryan Tepera from the Chicago Cubs, pending medicals, according to sources familiar with the situation.

— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) July 29, 2021

Tepera was excellent for the Cubs this season on a one-year deal for less than $1 million, so this is probably a solid return from a pure value standpoint. The 23-year-old Horn was a fifth round draft pick out of Auburn last summer and is currently pitching at High-A Winston-Salem. Or at least he was.

Horn has had a tough go of it since being promoted, posting a 13.09 ERA in 11 innings as a swingman. The big issue appears to be control, as he has walked 11 batters in that time. That’s a really small sample, though, so it’s easy to see him figuring some things out in time.

FanGraphs’ top prospect rankings had Horn as No. 30 in the Sox system and MLB.com had him at No. 23. Rankings aside, having a southpaw who can touch 96 is pretty nice. We’ll have more on this from our prospect hounds and more on other deals as they happen.