Chicago Cubs News: Keegan Thompson, Yonathan Perlaza, and more

Chicago Cubs manager David Ross provided an update on the team's starting rotation on Saturday with the announcement that Javier Assad, Adrian Sampson, and Hayden Wesneski will be primary candidates for the fifth starter's spot.

Not mentioned in the mix for the last spot in the Cubs' starting rotation was Keegan Thompson. Thompson posted a 3.76 ERA in 115 innings pitches with the Cubs last season. Toward the end of the season, the Cubs stretched Thompson out and that led to him having 17 starts. Thompson appeared in 29 games overall for the Cubs last season and Ross confirmed to reporters on Saturday that the 27-year-old pitcher will pitch out of the bullpen in 2023.

As a reliever last season, Thompson posted a 1.47 ERA in 36.2 innings pitched. Thompson will essentially serve as the "bullpen ace" for the Cubs in 2023 as he will have the ability to pitch multiple innings at a time with the hope of shutting down the opposing offense.

Chicago Cubs infield prospect Yonathan Perlaza is a unit.

During the 2022 season, Christopher Morel was a breakout prospect for the Cubs as he made his Major League debut in May and was able to remain with the Major League through the remainder of the season. It is not out of the question to think that Cubs' infield prospect Yonathan Perlaza could have a similar ascension in 2023. Perlaza is capable of playing second base as well as each corrner spot in the outfielder. Last season, with Double-A Tennessee, Perlaza slashed .255/.358/.492 with 23 home runs.

Chicago Cubs prospect Crisitian Hernandez is now on Twitter

2023 is set to be Cristian Hernandez's first full season of professional baseball and there is an expectation that he could place him near the top of the Cubs' prospect rankings by season's end.

Chicago Cubs Spring Training Tweets