The Cubs placed Thielbar on the 15-day injured list Friday with a left hamstring strain. Thielbar had to come out of Thursday's game against the Phillies early after suffering an injury on the mound, and he'll now be forced to sit out at least another 15 days. The 39-year-old had been serving as Chicago's closer with Daniel Palencia (oblique) on the injured list, but that responsibility could be passed on to Ben Brown for the time being. Vince Velasquez was selected from Triple-A Iowa to fill the open spot in the Cubs' bullpen.
Caleb Thielbar: Everything you need to know
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Status
15-Day IL - Hamstring - Strain Expected Return: 2026-05-09STATS
Caleb Thielbar Game Log 2026
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PreseasonDateOppResultIPKBBHBPCGSHOHRER3/20L 8-61.0000001003/15L 14-81.0000000003/11W 9-81.0100000003/8L 9-51.0100000003/5W 8-11.0100000003/1L 5-11.0000002002/25L 14-70.1000006552/22L 4-21.000000100
Preseason Totals 7.1300001055 -
Regular SeasonDateOppResultIPKBBHBPCGSHOHRER4/23W 8-70.0010001114/21W 7-40.2000000004/19W 2-11.0100001004/18W 4-21.0200000004/14W 10-40.2210001004/11L 4-31.0300000104/10L 2-00.2000003224/7W 9-20.1000000004/5W 1-01.1010000004/1W 6-21.0200000003/28W 10-21.011000000
Regular Season Totals 6.8114000643
Caleb Thielbar Splits 2026
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SplitsGSIPWLERAKBBHBPCGHRERSVOSAVGHR
Overall 08.2220.011400643320.1822Away 02.1100.02200100000.1250Home 06.1120.09200543320.2002Night 01.2000.02100100110.1670Day 07.0220.09300543210.1852vs Righty 00.0000.010400330000.1252vs Lefty 00.0000.01000310000.3330March 01.0000.01100000000.0000April 07.2220.010300643320.2002Opponent vs WSH 0 1.0 0 0 0.0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 vs LAA 0 1.0 0 0 0.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 vs CLE 0 1.1 1 0 0.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 vs TB 0 0.1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 vs PHI 0 1.1 0 0 0.0 2 2 0 0 2 1 1 2 1 0.333 1 vs NYM 0 2.0 1 0 0.0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0.143 0 vs PIT 0 1.2 0 2 0.0 3 0 0 0 3 3 2 0 0 0.333 1 Venue @ Philadelphia 0 0.2 0 0 0.0 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.333 0 @ Tampa Bay 0 0.1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 @ Chicago 0 6.1 1 2 0.0 9 2 0 0 5 4 3 3 2 0.200 2 @ Cleveland 0 1.1 1 0 0.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0
Caleb Thielbar Player Profile
Career History
Caleb Thielbar: Breaking News
Blows save, leaves with injury
Thielbar exited with an apparent leg injury in the ninth inning of Thursday's game versus the Phillies, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports. Thielbar suffered a blown save when he served up a game-tying, solo home run to Adolis Garcia to lead off the top of the ninth inning. Three pitches after that, he appeared to tweak his hamstring and had to be pulled. The Cubs should offer an update on Thielbar's condition shortly. Thielbar has been filling in at closer since Daniel Palencia (oblique) went on the injured list. If Thielbar misses time, the Cubs could turn to Ben Brown to close games. Phil Maton (knee) would also be an option if he comes off the IL soon.
Called on again for save Tuesday
Thielbar retired the last two batters in Tuesday's 7-4 win over the Phillies to record the save. The Cubs started the ninth with a 7-3 lead and deployed Jacob Webb, but he allowed two hits and only recorded one out. That's when Chicago turned to Thielbar to put out the fire with two runners on. The veteran lefty calmly got the job done on just six pitches, and he now has two saves and a win over the last three days. Thielbar is serving as the team's top option for saves with regular closer Daniel Palencia (oblique) on the injured list, and he's performed well in the role,