Cubs Roster Move: Kilian Optioned Back to Iowa, Espinoza Stays

As expected, Caleb Kilian’s call-up start for the double-header yesterday was a one-and-done, and he’s been optioned back to Triple-A Iowa.

With the Cubs wanting Keegan Thompson in the rotation right now, and with Matt Swarmer looking awfully good (after a whole lot more Triple-A experience), it makes sense that Kilian would head back down for the moment. He will be back – probably after the Trade Deadline – and he will be able to take this experience back with him to Iowa. I think it’s going to be a good thing for his development, which is the most important thing at the moment.

If you’re wondering who comes up with Kilian going down, it’s no one. Because of the double-header, the Cubs had an extra player – pitcher Anderson Espinoza – and now he gets to stay up. So it’s kinda like a very brief Kilian-for-Espinoza swap. My guess is Espinoza will be around until someone else is ready to return this week (it’s possible Wade Miley could be activated by the end of the week, for example; it’s also possible that Alec Mills will return around the same time; it’s also possible it could just be for a position player like Seiya Suzuki or David Bote).