The Chicago Cubs lost a bit of pitching depth already this offseason.
The right-handed pitcher Keegan Thompson has elected free agency rather than working toward a new contract tender with the Cubs.
Major league players don't become free agents until five days after the World Series, but minor leaguers can already choose to become free agents now.
To elect free agency, Thompson had to have been outrighted off the 40-man roster during the 2025 season and not brought back (which he was), and he additionally qualified to elect free agency by having been outrighted off the 40-man roster multiple times in his career.
What this means is that Thompson can immediately begin negotiating with any team to sign a new contract.
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The Cubs can still bring him back if they so choose to offer him a new deal.
Thompson is 30 years old, and he was a third-round pick by the Cubs in 2017 out of Auburn.
He has pitched in parts of four separate MLB seasons for the Cubs, putting up a 3.64 ERA in 227.1 innings with 225 strikeouts.
Thompson didn't get into an MLB game this year. He spent the entire campaign at Triple-A Iowa, where he had a 4.50 ERA with 83 strikeouts in 64.0 innings pitched.
The Cubs will be looking to make improvements to their team for 2026 after a disappointing NLDS exit from this postseason. Thompson wasn't a part of that, but he could always find his way back to Wrigley down the road.
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