Meet the New Guy: Red Sox Pitcher Bailey Horn
Sure, he’s another White Sox cast-off. But that doesn’t mean he can’t surprise us.
Who is he and where did he come from?
He’s left-handed pitcher Bailey Horn, and like all effective pitchers, he was let go by the Chicago White Sox. Prior to his time with Boston’s plain counterparts, he spent time in Craig Breslow’s pitching lab with the Cubs.
What position does he play?
He’s a freak, an absolute mutant, one of the weirdest beings in this realm: a left handed reliever.
Is he any good?
He was designated for assignment by the White Sox, who own the league’s 27th-best bullpen ERA, so probably not. He’s a reliever though, and sometimes something as simple as moving six inches to either side on the rubber can turn a career journeyman into a lockdown reliever, so it’s worth taking a look.
Horn’s arsenal includes a sweeper, fastball, cutter, and curveball. The sweeper is a slow pitch with huge horizontal movement that provides high whiff rates. His fastball is the other attraction, coming in at about 95 MPH. Word of advice: if you’re a lefty who can throw 95 MPH and wants to spend some time in Worcester, try calling up the Red Sox. They might just sign you to a minor league deal.
Horn probably isn’t going to become the next Josh Hader, but he might become another Brennan Bernardino. In Worcester, he pitched 16 innings allowing just three runs. He’s been pretty much the same guy at every level, posting high strikeout rates along with high walk rates.
Show me a cool highlight.
Bailey Horn is 26 years old and is yet to make his Major League debut. People on Twitter will tell you he’s awful if he doesn’t succeed in the majors, but I’d like to remind everyone that he’s better at baseball than most people can even dream of being. Here he is mowing down junior college hitters who had the pleasure of steeping in against him that day.
What’s he doing in his picture up there?
Chilling, smiling, trying not to look awkward when being forced to take a headshot.
What’s his role on the 2024 Red Sox?
He’ll make his major league debut, pitch in a few low-leverage spots, and try to fend-off Cam Booser for the second lefty spot in the bullpen. It’s a low-risk move, but it could pay dividends. Sometimes the baseball gods decide random relievers will turn in career years for seemingly no reason. Maybe Bailey Horn will have that year.
