Cubs reliever Caleb Thielbar is going on the injured list with what Craig Counsell described as a “mild” hamstring strain.
He is the eighth Cubs pitcher to land on the IL this month.
Getty
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - APRIL 18: Caleb Thielbar #24 of the Chicago Cubs pitches during the ninth inning against the New York Mets at Wrigley Field on April 18, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)
The Chicago Cubs announced a flurry of moves before a matchup against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, April 24, including left-hander Caleb Thielbar heading to the 15-day injured list.
Thielbar was knocked out of a game on Thursday, April 23, with a hamstring injury. Before he departed, he allowed a game-tying home run to Adolis Garcia of the Philadelphia Phillies. Thielbar has been diagnosed with a hamstring strain.
Cubs reliever Caleb Thielbar is going on the injured list with what Craig Counsell described as a “mild” hamstring strain.
He is the eighth Cubs pitcher to land on the IL this month.
In addition to Thielbar hitting the IL, the Cubs designated Scott Kingery for assignment. Right-hander Vince Velasquez was promoted to take Thielbar’s spot. Infielder Nicky Lopez will step into Kingery’s roster slot. Chicago recently traded for Lopez in a deal with the Colorado Rockies. Right-hander Porter Hodge was moved to the 60-day injured list to open up a 40-man roster spot.
Thielbar is the latest of a lengthy list of injured Cubs relievers. He stepped into the closer role when right-hander Daniel Palencia went down with a lat strain. The injury was initially labeled an oblique issue, but was changed to a lat concern after further testing. Right-hander Hunter Harvey is on the 15-day injured list due to triceps inflammation. Fellow righty Phil Maton is right there with him after experiencing knee tendinitis. Chicago recently lost right-hander Ethan Roberts to a cut finger.
The 39-year-old Thielbar re-signed with the Cubs this offseason on a one-year, $4.5 million contract. He was off to an excellent start in his second season in Chicago. The veteran lefty had delivered a 3.12 ERA over 8.2 innings. He secured two saves to go with a pair of wins. Thielbar ratcheted up his strikeout rate to 28.9%, his best mark since 2023.
Despite the rash of injuries, the Cubs’ bullpen has been solid to begin the year. The unit ranks 9th in ERA. It’s just outside of the top 10 in earned runs allowed. The underlying stats suggest the group has been lucky, though. Chicago’s bullpen ranks 17th in xFIP and 16th in SIERA.
Chicago already replaced one stud closer this season. Palencia only had one save, but he had posted five scoreless frames to open the campaign. He’s coming off a tremendous 22-save season in 2025. Thielbar might not fit into the stud category, though he’d been effective in the role. The veteran locked down a pair of saves and earned a win in extra innings since Palencia went down.
Right-hander Ben Brown is likely the favorite to step into the closer role. The former starter has transitioned to a full-time relief gig in 2026. The results speak for themselves. Brown has a crisp 2.37 ERA across 19 innings. He’s striking out batters at a 26% clip while limiting walks to 7.8%. Brown scuffled to a brutal 5.92 ERA last season, so his bullpen work comes as a welcome sight to a Chicago organization that wasn’t sure what they’d be getting out of a former high-end prospect. The lone drawback to pigeonholing Brown as the closer is that he’d be limited to one inning in most instances.
Charlie Wright is a longtime sports journalist with more than a decade of experience covering college and professional sports. He covers MLB and NBA for Heavy.com. More about Charlie Wright
此内容由惯性聚合(RSS阅读器)自动聚合整理，仅供阅读参考。 原文来自 — 版权归原作者所有。