3 Chicago Cubs to blame for recent slide in the standings

Cubs haven’t been able to rely on Keegan Thompson out of the ‘pen

Over the past couple of seasons, you could make the argument that Keegan Thompson has been one of the most versatile and reliable arms on the Cubs staff. He made 29 appearances and 17 starts last season for Chicago, amassing a nice 10-5 record with a 3.76 ERA and 1.27 WHIP.

In the 2023 season to this point, Thompson has actually been overall better coming out of the bullpen in all 13 appearances. He’s posted a 3.26 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. But it’s been his performance since the end of April that has been a real problem.

After giving up one run on one hit and one walk in a win over the Padres on April 27, Thompson has made four appearances and has given up at least one run in three of them, which happened to be his longest outing, three innings of one-hit ball against the Marlins on May 6.

Even with that, in three May appearances, Thompson has lasted just 4.1 innings — meaning it’s just 1.1 innings outside of the Marlins game. And in those 1.1 other innings of work, the 28-year-old has given up seven hits, one walk and four earned runs, ballooning his ERA in May to 8.31.

Thompson is a key piece of the Cubs pitching staff. If he’s pitching the way he has to start to May with the club still needing him in a lot of high-leverage spots, though, that’s a big problem.