Cubs promote Vince Reilly to Triple-A in roster shuffle

Vince Reilly forced the Cubs to make room for him. The 25-year-old right-hander earned a promotion to Triple-A Iowa after putting up a 3.41 ERA across 21 games for the Knoxville Smokies, a line that also included 34.1 innings, 44 strikeouts, six saves and a 1.11 WHIP.

The move sent Luke Little back down and kept Chicago’s bullpen pipeline in motion. Little, a 25-year-old left-hander who stands 6-foot-8 and weighs 220 pounds, had been bouncing between levels this season, with his player pages showing time in Triple-A Iowa earlier in 2026 and activity with Double-A Knoxville. For a club trying to sort out who can handle the next major-league call, Reilly’s numbers looked like the sharper answer.

Reilly has done it as a short reliever and as a spot starter, with one start among his 21 outings. He entered the shuffle with a 2-1 record and six saves for Knoxville, and his strikeout total suggests the Cubs saw more than a clean stat line. He was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 18th round in 2022 out of Grand Canyon, and MLB.com identifies him as the twin brother of Blake Reilly. At 5-foot-10 and 160 pounds, he does not fit the prototype of a power arm, but the production has pushed him up the ladder anyway.

Little’s path has been more uneven. The Cubs drafted him in the fourth round in 2020, 117th overall, out of San Jacinto Junior College, and he has already reached the majors. MLB.com says he made two relief appearances for Chicago in 2025, while his recent highlight history included a win-sealing outing in an 11-2 Cubs victory on April 15 and a pickoff of Jesus Rodriguez on March 8. That kind of usage reflects a pitcher still searching for a steady lane, not a finished major-league role.

Iowa remains the next step above Knoxville in the Cubs’ system, and this move makes the promotion picture plain. Reilly’s strikeout rate, save totals and 1.11 WHIP say he has earned a harder test; Little’s return to Knoxville gives Chicago another chance to straighten out a left-handed arm that has already touched the big leagues. The shuffle was more than bookkeeping. It was a read on which reliever looks ready when the Cubs need the next arm to hold a lead.