2 candidates to replace Jose Cuas in the Chicago Cubs bullpen

It's been a struggle to start the season for Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Jose Cuas.

Cuas was acquired by the Cubs at the Major League Baseball Trade Deadline last season and it hasn't helped matters that the outfield prospect that the North Siders sent to the Kansas City Royals for the relief pitcher, Nelson Velazquez, is currently thriving.

Cuas' struggles this season have been heightened by the fact that Julian Merryweather will be sidelined for at least the next month while Adbert Alzolay and Hector Neris have struggled in late-inning situations.

In 5 appearances this season, Cuas has allowed 8 runs (6 earned) on 9 hits and 2 walks.

The final straw in terms of Cuas' struggles likely was this past Monday when the Cubs blew an 8-run lead against the San Diego Padres. Cuas entered a low-leverage situation but allowed 4 runs while only being able to record 1 out.

Given the struggles of the bullpen over the course of the past week, the question has been how long would the Cubs go before making a change. In past seasons, under David Ross, it's likely that the Cubs would have waited until the returns of Justin Steele and Jameson Taillon before making a change to their pitching staff.

That does not appear to be the case this season.

In a move that was logged on the Cubs' official transaction log on Thursday, Cuas was optioned to Triple-A Iowa.

The Cubs have yet to announce the corresponding roster move but there are two likely candidates.

2. Keegan Thompson

While the Cubs did bring back Carl Edwards Jr on a minor-league deal last weekend, he struggled with command issues during his first appearance with the Iowa Cubs this week. Given the fact that Edwards is also not on the 40-man roster, chances are the Cubs want to wait until later in the season to clear a spot on their 40-man roster.

Keegan Thompson is like the first of two primary candidates to replace Cuas in the Cubs' bullpen.

Thompson was the bullpen ace for the Cubs during the 2022 season but struggled at the start of the 2023 season. Thompson spent most of the 2023 season with the Iowa Cubs but injuries limited him to only 20 appearances.

It would seem likely that the Cubs want to give at least one more attempt at Thompson becoming a mainstay in the bullpen and that could come in place of Cuas. After struggling in his first appearance of the season with the Iowa Cubs, allowing 3 runs in 1 inning of work, Thompson has since tossed 5 scoreless innings while striking out 6 batters.