Beloved Cubs Pitcher Placed on Injured List

This kinda sucks. If you were thinking that Keegan Thompson could soon be back up with the Cubs, think again because the beloved pitcher has been placed on the injured list down at Triple-A.

Thompson, who was let go back in March, but remained with the organization after clearing waivers has been great with the Iowa Cubs so far in 2025. Unfortunately, something went awry this week and on Friday Thompson’s named appeared on the transactions page at Triple-A.

No further details are currently available in regards to the nature of Thompson’s injury.

The 30-year-old has appeared in 12 games with Iowa so far in 2025. The right-hander has posted a 3.60 ERA in 30 innings of work, striking out 42 batters and walking 9. His last appearance came on Tuesday, when Thompson made the start for the Iowa Cubs. He had another solid outing, allowing one earned run in 3.2 innings on four hits and a walk. He struck out four.

Thompson began the year with a dominant stretch, tossing nine scoreless innings in his first five appearances. Things have been shaky since as Thompson’s ERA has increased to 5.14 over the last 21 innings of work.

Given that Thompson was pushed off the 40-man roster to begin the 2025 season there wasn’t a clear path for him to get back up in the bullpen with other relievers ahead of him on the depth chart. It’s a bummer because Thompson certainly had some great stretches for the Cubs during the past few years and was pretty good in the majors as recent as 2024.

On the other hand, the Cubs have built enough depth in the past year that they’re no longer relying on guys like Thompson to exceed their expectations. Minor acquisitions like Drew Pomeranz, Brad Keller and Caleb Thielbar have saved the bullpen, while the emergence of Daniel Palencia has given the front office some breathing room in 2025.

Still, you’d like for pitchers to remain healthy just in case, so hopefully Thompson recovers quickly from whatever his injury is.