'Pitching at Fenway would be a dream come true'; WooSox lefty Bailey Horn has eyes set on Boston
The acquisition of left-handed pitcher Bailey Horn might have flown under the radar for most fans in Boston.
Horn was acquired just a couple days after the team acquired Garrett Cooper from the Cubs and one day before the team signed Dom Smith and traded for Zack Short from the Mets.
All three of those moves impacted the major league team and were a little more in the spotlight than Horn, who was optioned to Triple-A Worcester right after being acquired. However, the lefty is another intriguing depth bullpen option who is a member of the 40-man roster.
Horn has had an interesting start to his young career. The 26-year-old was drafted in the fifth round of the 2020 Draft by the Chicago White Sox before being traded over to the Chicago Cubs in his first professional season in 2021. The same team that Craig Breslow was Assistant GM for when Horn was acquired.
“I was with him with the Cubs and everything we did over there was awesome,” Horn said about his familiarity with Breslow. “He does a great job as far as development goes and helping everyone become their best. He is great and every interaction I have had with him has been awesome. I am super grateful to be back in his organization.”
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The Auburn product has appeared in three games with the WooSox getting acquired and has not allowed a hit over four innings.
“I think he looks great so far,” WooSox manager Chad Tracy said of Horn. “There has been a lot of focused work in the bullpen for him centered around getting the ball over the plate. He had a lot of walks in Charlotte and had too many deep counts. The focus was about getting his stuff in and around the zone as much as possible. I think he has done that in his three outings, especially in his last outing. He was by far the bright side spot of the pitching side in the ninth inning of a tied game in that outing. It was a quick 15 pitches and he got out of there. He has ride on his fastball at 95 MPH, he is working on this gyro-slider, he has a big breaking ball for lefties, and just has good stuff. When you add in the 95 MPH, it is difficult to sit on anything. I have been impressed with him so far.”
The walks were indeed an issue while pitching in Charlotte this season, as he had walked 10 batters over 10 innings pitched. With the walks aside, he struck out 15 batters over the 10 innings as well, which is certainly a big reason why Boston pulled the trigger on him.
While his manager has welcomed the left-hander with open arms to his pitching staff, the same can be said about Horn in coming to the Red Sox organization.
“It was a lot of excitement,” Horn said about the trade to the Red Sox. “I was super excited to be with an organization like the Red Sox with the history and culture they have over here. Since being here, the hype has lived up. Every organization is different. Everyone does something a little different but the transition over here has been great. It’s a great group of guys over here. I like the plans they give us and the work the staff puts in with us. I can’t say enough good things. Just from talking to Dan Delucia here about the concept they bring to guys. They want you to throw your best stuff in the zone and you don’t have to nibble around. They know we have good stuff so they want us to use it and throw it in the zone. The ideas they bring to the table are great.”
While it has been a small sample size, Horn represents another intriguing major league bullpen option if called upon. He is a left-handed reliever who tops out at 98 mph, which is something every team desires.
Horn is one of three pitchers on the 40-man roster in Worcester right now alongside Josh Winckowski and Naoyuki Uwasawa. The next injury pitcher sent down could be the moment Horn makes his MLB debut in Boston.
It’s also safe to say that just about anyone playing in Worcester right now hasn’t at least thought of what it would be like to pitch at Fenway Park.
“I have thought about it,” Horn said of playing at Fenway. “It would be a dream and obviously it’s my goal. To be here now with the Red Sox, it would be a dream come true. The environment here is awesome and everything they do up there is awesome.”
