Cubs secure left-handed ace Caleb Thielbar for 2026. His dominant career year solidifies a crucial bullpen addition, proving age is just a number.
The Chicago Cubs are bringing back left-handed relief pitcher Caleb Thielbar.
Jesse Rogers and Jeff Passan confirmed that the Cubs and Thielbar are in agreement on a new contract. While the full details of the deal have yet to be revealed, the southpaw will be back for the 2026 season.
The signing of Thielbar marks the third bullpen move for the Cubs this offseason. He joins Phil Maton and Hoby Milner as free-agent acquisitions by the team over the past month. With those moves, the bullpen is starting to take shape.
Bringing Thielbar back is a nice move for the Cubs. He is coming off a career year on the mound and proved to be a reliable bullpen arm for the team last season. He finished with a 2.64 ERA, a 0.879 WHIP, and 56 strikeouts across 58 innings pitched.
Thielbar was also one of the Cubs' best relievers against left-handed batters. He held left-handed hitters to a .161 batting average while allowing just five extra-base hits. His fastball/sweeper usage against lefties played a big role in his success.
The veteran was really consistent for Chicago’s bullpen throughout the 2025 season, making this an easy reunion for both sides. At 38 years old, Thielbar showed no signs of slowing down.
He ranked in the 80th percentile or better in expected ERA (2.47), expected batting average against (.201), chase rate (32.2%), walk rate (5.9%), and hard-hit rate (31.8%). Additionally, Thielbar ranked in the upper half of the league in both strikeout rate (25.5%) and barrel rate (6.6%).
Thielbar figures to have a very similar role with the Cubs in 2026 as this past season. He will come in to face the best left-hander hitters in the lineup, and manager Craig Counsell will continue to go to him in the right matchups.
The Cubs could look to add another left-handed reliever to this bullpen before Opening Day, but Thielbar and Milner figure to be the top southpaw arms that Counsell goes to against left-handed batters throughout the year.
Even with the recent signing of Thielbar, the Cubs still likely need to sign one or two more high-leverage arms this offseason. As it stands now, Thielbar, Maton, Milner, and Daniel Palenica are all locked into Chicago’s bullpen for 2026. That likely won't be enough to get the team through the season.
But re-signing Thielbar is a solid move following a career year. His addition now gives Chicago two strong left-handers out of the bullpen.