The Chicago Cubs bullpen last year was catastrophic at times, especially early in the season.
With the flat-lining of crucial bullpen arms such as Adbert Alzolay, Hector Neris, and Julian Merryweather, the team was hapless in the areas of keeping leads and pulling the team over the finish line.
The full-on collapse pretty much removed the Cubs from any postseason push well before the second half of the season, when the bullpen rebounded with some new faces taking key roles.
The Chicago Cubs Add Depth To A Thinned-Out Bullpen
Adding bullpen depth was a primary focus this offseason for Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, who went about acquiring several pieces to fortify the core bullpen left at the end of the 2024 season.
Picked up via trade or free agency, Eli Morgan, Ryan Brasier, Caleb Thielbar, and Ryan Pressly are new Cubs additions, added to a bullpen that looks like it might feature only one pitcher on last year’s opening day roster (Merryweather).
Thielbar, specifically, has recently been talked up as a possible key pickup.
Caleb Thielbar, On The Precipice Of A Comeback?
The 38-year-old free agent lefty was signed to a one-year, $2.75 million deal by the Cubs in December and brought aboard to face left-handed hitters on a roster lacking in southpaw relief options.
The former Minnesota Twin had a disastrous 2024, posting a 5.32 ERA in 59 games and 47.1 innings. Prior to that, though, he was a consistently solid bullpen presence, with ERAs that generally hovered around the mid-3 mark.
Past success has proven his potential worth and his physical metric haven’t shown any real decline, so the Cubs are banking on his struggles being a one-year outlier to an otherwise successful career.
To echo the Cubs’ belief in the veteran pitcher, Fangraphs recently profiled Thielbar as one of the major league pitchers most likely to have a bounce back season in 2025.
Jordan Campbell of Cubbies Crib supports that assessment.
Per Campbell:
“What Cubs fans may not know is the 2024 season for Thielbar was the exception to what otherwise has been a respectable career in Major League Baseball. Prior to 2024, Thielbar had three consecutive seasons of posting an ERA under 3.50…
If nothing else, Thielbar should be better in 2025. But, specifically, for the Cubs, his value could come in getting left-handed hitters out. Despite his struggles last season, Thielbar remained effective against left-handed hitters. Lefties slashed .244/.320/.333 against Thielbar last season, with the veteran southpaw also posting a 2.59 FIP against his lefty counterparts.”
The Long And Winding Road To Chicago
Thielbar has had an unusual career path as he readies himself for his ninth season in the big leagues.
Picked in the 18th round by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2009, he was released shortly after that and signed by the Twins, where he made his major league debut in 2013. He’d later be released by the Twins and sign with the San Diego Padres, who also released him.
After four years of kicking around the minors and independent leagues, Caleb Thielbar would be picked up by the Twins once again, prior to the 2020 season. He had been a mainstay bullpen presence in Minnesota ever since, until the team showed an utter disinterest in re-signing him once he became a free agent at the end of the 2024 campaign.
The lefty specialist is looking to have a rebound year in 2025 with the Chicago Cubs, something which will reward the front office’s faith in him and prove the analysts right.
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