2 Cubs relievers who will begin the season in Triple-A and 1 who won't

Triple-A: Keegan Thompson

It was only two seasons ago that Keegan Thompson looked like a mainstay on this Cubs pitching staff. Out of the bullpen in 2022, Thompson tossed 36.2 innings with a dazzling 1.47 ERA and 42 strikeouts. Although those numbers jumped when he was inserted into the rotation, Thompson still had some great moments and he started half a season's worth of games that year (17).

But just as soon as Thompson's success came, it went away as the 28-year-old struggled out of the gate in 2023. This led to a demotion down to Triple-A Iowa in May where he stayed for the majority of the season and his stats got pretty ugly (8.10 ERA). After an IL stint, Thompson returned to MLB in August but still wasn't his old self. All in all, Thompson posted a 4.71 ERA in 28.2 innings for the Cubs last year.

It's hard to gauge if/when Thompson will get another shot but he'll need to perform in Spring Training to even be in that conversation. But with the additions to the bullpen and younger guys coming up through the system, Thompson's long-term future doesn't look great.

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