The Rockies have claimed right-hander Keegan Thompson off waivers from the Reds, according to announcements from both clubs. Cincinnati had designated him for assignment last month. Colorado’s 40-man roster count climbs from 38 to 39. DFA limbo is normally capped at one week but there are exceptions around the holidays, so Thompson was out there for almost two weeks.
Thompson, 31, just signed with the Reds in November. He’ll be on a split deal this year, making a salary of $1.3MM in the majors. It might seem curious for a team to sign a pitcher and then cut him from the roster the next month but these types of transactions are becoming more common in baseball. The hope for the team is that the player clears waivers and then stays in the organization but without taking up a roster spot.
The best-case scenario is what the Orioles got from Ryan O’Hearn. They acquired him from the Royals in January of 2023 and designated him for assignment a couple of days later. He cleared waivers and stayed in Baltimore’s system. He later hit his way back onto the roster and was a productive member of the club for over two years.
Thompson has just over three years of big league service time. That means he has the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency. However, since he has less than five years of service, he would have to forfeit his remaining salary commitments in exercising that right. It would appear the Reds signed him to that $1.3MM deal hoping it would be enough for other teams to pass on claiming and also for Thompson to accept a Triple-A assignment.
The Rockies have spoiled that plan, which makes sense for them. They had a couple of roster spots open and have a huge need for arms. It’s always a challenge to pitch well in Coors Field but things have been especially rough lately. The Rockies had a collective 5.99 earned run average in 2025.
Thompson has primarily been with the Cubs in his career. He was drafted by that club in 2017 and was with them through the 2025 season. He tossed 227 1/3 innings from 2021 to 2024 with a 3.64 ERA. His four-seamer and sinker both averaged around 93 miles per hour as he also featured a cutter, slider, curveball and changeup. His 23% strikeout rate and 41% ground ball rate were around league average but his 11.3% walk rate was on the high side.
He exhausted his final option season in 2024. The Cubs ran him through waivers in March of 2025 and he stayed with the club in a non-roster capacity last year. He tossed 64 innings over 33 Triple-A appearances, including five starts, with a 4.50 ERA. His 41.4% grounder rate was around normal for him but his 8.9% walk rate and 29.5% strikeout rate were both intriguing improvements. His ERA likely would have been more impressive if not for a .367 batting average on balls in play. He wasn’t added back to the roster and became a free agent at season’s end.
The Rockies will bring Thompson aboard and have him compete for a spot. He has worked both as a starter and a reliever in his career and could potentially help in either department, or even oscillate between the two roles. General manager Josh Byrnes did say this week that they hoped to have some veterans eat some innings out of the rotation this year.
Photo courtesy of Darren Yamashita, Imagn Images
I doubt this will end, too well.
But I wish Thompson good luck.
I think the Rockies just signed their new ACE!
Here’s how I see it ending better with Colorado than it does with CIN:
Keegan has a much better chance of sticking on the Rockies’ roster because we’re terrible.
If he can use his arsenal to pitch some Helton-era grounders for Tovar to gobble up, then he might stick in 2027, and that might mean Arb2.
Meanwhile he’s the 28th-32nd man on the depth chart for the Reds and would probably be DFA’d anyhow, and if that’s the case, he’s either getting paid his split AAA contract (which is probably not too bad, relative to a middle class desk jockey’s monthly salary), and if he refuses assignment, he doesn’t get paid.
Rockies – Road to a 2027 paycheck
Reds – Not that
I’ll be back later with more silver linings for marginal pro athlete labor situations, here on Rockies Articles Comments Sections on MLBTR
SNL??
Close, but that’s Kenan.
Keegan? Wait, Keegan, you said… AW THERE IT GOES
Good luck Keegan.
RIP Keegans career
see above: if he can pitch 150IP of the most watery mediocrity, hell, even just normal bad-but-pitches-deep (not happening) baseball for Colorado, that could be the road to Arb2 and a couple million bucks
Upgrade for the Rockies.
But a downgrade for poor old Keegan.
He’ll almost certainly get a chance to start with the Rox, as their bullpen is largely set but have a huge need for SP. Not super exciting, but this is one of the few ways COL can get pitchers.
Loving this pickup. Thompson being a 4SM/SNK guy is a recipe for effectiveness, no matter how marginal. Having the change/slider for offspeed is so good as well. If they can figure out the cutter, good luck, and if they retained any of Bud Black/Darren Holmes’ “Release Point” work, maybe even that curveball can make an appearance.
Most likely outcome is that he gets hurt or he can’t find the strike zone and he either doesn’t make the club out of ST or gets cut in May.
Realistic but less likely is he’s a solid multi-inning relief guy, or something vaguely resembling Matt Belisle.
Unlikely is that he sticks in the rotation.
99.8%th percentile outcome is that he’s literally 1st half 2009 Jason Marquis, including the Long Island accent – possibly funnier if he has a thick Alabama Drawwwwwl, what with Auburn and all
I think it’s as good a pickup as Rox can hope for. He should start and possibly be below 5 era. Wishful thinking as a Rockies fan
Still think DJ saw something in Keegan, thus the reason for the early split contract. Just a numbers game now and Reds have a 40 man roster crunch.
Good pickup. His ERA is half what many of the Rockies hurlers (aka vomiters) had last season.