Trent Thornton: Everything you need to know

Thornton (2-1) allowed a run on two hits in an inning of relief to take the loss Monday against the Pirates. Thornton served up a solo home run to Henry Davis in the bottom of the seventh inning to break a 1-1 tie, and Pittsburgh would hold on for the 2-1 win. The Cubs are spiraling with nine straight losses, but Thornton has been mostly good this year with a 2.79 ERA and 1.03 WHIP across 9.2 innings in eight appearances. The veteran righty should stick in a middle relief role for Chicago with limited fantasy upside at the moment.

The Cubs selected Thornton's contract from Triple-A Iowa on Monday. The move corresponds with Charlie Barnes being designated for assignment and the Cubs placing Matthew Boyd (knee) on the 15-day injured list. Thornton was activated from Iowa's 7-day injured list in late April after fully recovering from surgery in August to repair a torn left Achilles tendon. The 32-year-old right-hander has appeared in four Triple-A games, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out five across 5.2 innings. With Boyd slated to undergo surgery to repair a meniscus injury in his left knee, Thornton's addition to the Cubs' 26-man roster indicates that either Ben Brown or Javier Assad could move from the bullpen to the rotation until Jordan Hicks (elbow) is activated from the 15-day IL.

Thornton (Achilles) was activated from the 7-day injured list Friday. Thornton got off to a slow start to the 2026 campaign after undergoing surgery in August to repair a torn left Achilles tendon, but he's been given a clean bill of health. He made his 2026 debut with Triple-A Iowa, where he gave up a pair of hits and one walk over two innings but managed to escape without surrendering a run.