Cubs roster move: José Cuas optioned to Iowa, Keegan Thompson recalled

The Cubs quietly demoted José Cuas to Triple-A Iowa late Thursday. I say “quietly” because no press release was issued; some of us simply noticed the move posted on the Cubs transactions page.

Cuas has not pitched well this year, after being reasonably good after being acquired by trade in 2023. This year he has a 9.00 ERA in five outings covering six innings.

At the time, no corresponding 26-man roster move was announced, but now we know that move.

Righthander Keegan Thompson has been recalled from Iowa. This move has not yet been officially announced by the team, but this would seem to be a good source:

At the end of the 2022 season it appeared that the Cubs had two young pitchers vying to become top starters — Thompson and Justin Steele. Steele did that and got Cy Young votes. Thompson, relegated to the pen, did not pitch well and spent much of 2023 at Iowa. He made six appearances in Spring Training with a 4.05 ERA and 1.200 WHIP and so far this year at Iowa has a 4.50 ERA and 1.167 WHIP in four appearances covering six innings, with seven strikeouts. But after a rough first outing, he’s been lights-out over the last three, with six K’s in five innings.

If Thompson can recover some of his 2022 form, that’d be a big boost to the pen. Best of luck, Keegan. As always, we await developments.