CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs today selected the contracts of right-handed pitcher Cory Abbott from Single-A Myrtle Beach, right-handed pitcher Keegan Thompson from Myrtle Beach and infielder Christopher Morel from Single-A South Bend. Chicago’s 40-man roster now stands at 37 players.

Abbott, 25, spent 2020 at the South Bend Alternate Site after entering the year ranked as the organization’s 10th-best prospect by Baseball America. The 2019 Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Year, Abbott that season was 8-8 with a 3.01 ERA (49 ER/146.2 IP) for Double-A Tennessee, leading the Southern League with 146.2 innings, 166 strikeouts and 26 starts. He was a Southern League mid-season All-Star then was named the Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Month for August, going 3-1 with a 0.98 ERA (4 ER/36.2 IP) in six starts that month.

Selected by the Cubs in the second round of the 2017 draft out of Loyola Marymount University (Calif.), Abbott is 16-14 with a 2.84 ERA (87 ER/275.2 IP) in 53-career starts. Abbott was also named Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Month for August of 2018 after going 2-0 with a 0.67 ERA (2 ER/27.0 IP) in five starts for Myrtle Beach.

Morel, 21, spent last season at the South Bend Alternate Site and is ranked the organization’s 11th-best prospect according to MLB Pipeline. In 2019 with South Bend, Morel hit .284 (73-for-257) with 15 doubles, seven triples, six homers and 31 RBI in 73 games before his season was cut short in mid-July due to left knee bursitis. A right-handed batter, Morel in 2019 hit .294 (60-for-204) with a .780 OPS against right-handed pitching and batted .245 (13-for-53) with an .815 OPS against southpaws.

Morel was signed by the Cubs out of Santiago, Dominican Republic in August of 2015. In three minor league seasons, he has batted .243 (166-for-684) with 29 doubles, nine triples, 16 homers, 91 RBI and 33 stolen bases in 188 career games.

Thompson, 25, was at the South Bend Alternate Site in 2020 after he missed a majority of the 2019 campaign due to right elbow inflammation. Thompson returned to action in the 2019 Arizona Fall League, making seven starts, striking out 26 batters while walking just six in 25.1 innings while pitching to a 4.62 ERA (13 ER/25.1 IP). In 2018, Thompson combined to go 9-6 with a 3.61 ERA (52 ER/129.2 IP) in 25 starts, walking just 25 and striking out 115, between Myrtle Beach and Double-A Tennessee.

Thompson was selected by Chicago in the third round of the 2017 draft out of Auburn University. In 35 career minor league games (29 starts), he is 10-10 with a 3.46 ERA (61 ER/158.2 IP) with 151 strikeouts compared to just 39 walks, contributing to a 1.09 WHIP.