Cubs roster move: Keegan Thompson recalled, Jake Jewell optioned

Like his teammate Justin Steele, Keegan Thompson had been sent back to Triple-A Iowa to stretch out to start after having some success in relief at the big-league level.

In 27 appearances (one start) for the Cubs this year, Thompson has posted a 2.21 ERA and 1.279 WHIP with 43 strikeouts in 40⅔ innings.

He’s now been recalled from Iowa to start today and will probably finish the year in the Cubs rotation. In four “stretch out” appearances with Iowa, Thompson posted a 0.00 ERA in 14⅔ innings, with an opponents BA of .104 and opponents OPS of .314. He threw 70 pitches in his last outing on Sunday, so you’d think he’d be ready for 75-80 today.

Jaje Jewell has an 8.00 ERA and 2.111 WHIP in nine games for the Cubs this year, with eight home runs allowed in nine innings. Basically, he’s been one of several placeholders until the Cubs were able to bring Thompson back to the big leagues.

With two more off days this month, the Cubs will likely go with a rotation of Thompson, Kyle Hendricks, Alec Mills, Justin Steele and Zach Davies for now.