NEWSLETTER
Last night, we learned that the Chicago Cubs had optioned right-handed reliever Jose Cuas to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs after a pretty horrendous start to the year.
Although he’s got some arm talent and a funky delivery (which creates a vastly different look relative to the other Cubs relievers), Cuas just couldn’t get it together this year. So he’s being optioned out to Iowa, having earned a 9.00 ERA over five appearances (6.0 IP). It’s probably not the last we’ve seen of Cuas. But for now, he’s out.
What we didn’t learn last night is who would replace him on the active roster. And although the Cubs took their time making the announcement, there is no big surprise. Instead, it’s a familiar name already on the 40-man roster, Keegan Thompson.
Keegan Thompson, you’ll recall, had a breakout season with the Cubs back in 2022, when he earned a 3.76 ERA over 115.0 IP. And he was even better as a reliever that year, with a 1.47 ERA, a .156 AVG against, a 57.5% groundball rate, and a ton of weak contact over 36.2 IP.
So naturally, heading into 2023, the plan was for Keegan Thompson to be one of the primary and most dependable relievers in the Cubs bullpen; perhaps even someone who could routinely go multiple innings at a time. But that extremely did not happen.
With a 17.6% strikeout rate, a 15.4% walk rate, and plenty of hard-contact, Thompson didn’t make it to June before being demoted back to Triple-A, where it also didn’t go well and he eventually wound up on the IL. All together, he had an 8.30 ERA over his 30.0 IP at Iowa last season and a 4.71 ERA over 28.2 IP with the big league Cubs.
So coming into this season, his final year with big league options, Keegan Thompson wasn’t really counted on for much. He’s still only 29 and has obviously had success before. But if it weren’t for all the injuries (Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon, Caleb Kilian, Julian Merryweather) and extreme-underperformance (Jose Cuas), I don’t think we would’ve seen him this early (if at all!). But Javier Assad and Ben Brown are already both in the rotation, Daniel Palencia has already been called up, and Hayden Wesneski is staying stretched out as a starter.
So Keegan Thompson – again, already on the 40-man roster – is up!
Now here’s the (hopefully) good news: While Thompson’s first appearance of the year was pretty bad (1.0 IP, 2H, 3ER, 2BB, HR), he’s actually gone scoreless over three multi-inning appearances since.
April 2: 2.1 IP, 0H, 0ER, 1BB, 4K
April 5: 1.1 IP, 1H, 0ER, 1BB, 1K
April 9: 1.1 IP, 0H, 0ER, 0BB, 1K
Moreover, he’s well-rested having not pitched since April 9.
When he was at his best (2022 relief), Thompson was striking 30% of the batters he faced, while getting a ton of groundballs, and completely avoiding hard contact. As a reliever, he threw his four-seamer (94.1 MPH) nearly half the time, mixing in a cutter (23.3%, 89.9 MPH), a curveball (22.4%), and (much less frequently) a changeup (5.2%).
I don’t know which version of Keegan Thompson we’re going to get this time around, but it’s also not difficult to imagine this being his last real chance with the Cubs. Not only are guys getting healthy and some other useful arms progressing through the system, but as I mentioned, this is the last season Thompson has minor league options. So if he doesn’t show that he still has it, the Cubs might just be convinced to cut bait (he’s a lot harder to carry on the 40-man through the offseason and next year if he can’t be freely optioned up and down).
But I’ll be rooting for him. Not just because he’s a Cub (and because the bullpen REALLY needs the help). But also because there was a time when he seemed like a critical part of the Cubs future. And I still like dreaming on that possibility. So good luck, Mr. Thompson. It’d be super cool if you could just be good again.
