You wanted a lefty. Here’s a lefty.
Caleb Thielbar is probably not a name you had on your Cubs bingo card for this offseason, but the team signed him to a one-year deal Tuesday. The terms of the deal are not yet available.
Thielbar has a 3.38 ERA in eight MLB seasons, all with the Twins. This was in two stints, from 2013-15 and then again from 2020-24. In the interim years he pitched in indy ball and in the affiliated minor leagues.
In 2024 with the Twins, Thielbar posted a 5.32 ERA and 1.563 WHIP in 59 appearances. That isn’t so good, it was worth -0.6 bWAR. In previous years he threw better than that in Minnesota.
The oddest thing about this deal is that Thielbar will turn 38 years old a month from now. The Cubs must be convinced he can give them a year of decent production. In his MLB career he has a 3.38 ERA and 1.188 WHIP in 347 appearances.
His K rate is still good (10.1 per nine innings) but his walk rate was up last year, whereas in previous years he had a good walk rate. Here is his pitch mix via Baseball Savant:
Baseball Savant
Here’s hoping for the best from the Cubs’ newest lefthander. With this signing, the 40-man roster is full.