Dec. 17: Thielbar is guaranteed $4.5MM on the contract, reports Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. That breaks down as a $4MM salary and a $500K buyout on a 2027 mutual option. There are also incentives in the deal that can boost his 2026 earnings.
Dec. 16: The Cubs are re-signing veteran left-handed reliever Caleb Thielbar, per Jesse Rogers and Jeff Passan of ESPN. The agreement between the two parties is still pending the completion of a physical. Thielbar is represented by ISE Baseball.
Thielbar, 39 in January, spent his entire big league career prior to the 2025 season with his hometown Twins. He signed a one-year, $2.75MM contract coming off a down showing in his final year with Minnesota and bounced back in a major way with Chicago.
In 58 innings this past season, the South Dakota State product notched a sharp 2.64 earned run average and 25 holds — the latter tying him with Brad Keller (also a free agent this winter) for the team lead. Thielbar struck out 25.5% of his opponents, limited walks at an excellent 5.9% clip, and kept 40.7% of the batted balls against him on the ground (a career-high mark). He tacked on another 3 2/3 scoreless frames in the postseason.
While he doesn’t throw particularly hard (92.8 mph average fastball in ’25), Thielbar still managed to post a roughly average swinging-strike rate and an above-average strikeout rate thanks to dominant performances from his curveball and slider alike. Opponents hit just .135 and slugged .231 against the former while batting .169 and slugging .254 versus the latter. Thielbar dominated left-handed hitters (.161/.211/.276) and right-handed hitters (.205/.248/.342) alike during his lone season with the Cubs.
Thielbar is the third free-agent addition to the Cubs’ bullpen this winter, joining fellow southpaw Hoby Milner (one year, $3.75MM) and right-hander Phil Maton (two years, $14.5MM). Thielbar and Milner give manager Craig Counsell a pair of experienced southpaws, both of whom he’s previously managed, and create the potential for a trio of southpaws, should Luke Little also make the club. Thielbar, Milner and Maton will combine to help bridge the gap between the rotation and young closer Daniel Palencia.
There’s still room for Chicago to make further additions to the bullpen, which has at least three spots earmarked for relatively untested arms. Each of their bullpen pickups thus far has also been relatively low-cost in nature, leaving room for a significant addition elsewhere on the roster. The Cubs have been at least loosely tied to top free agents like Ranger Suarez, Tatsuya Imai, Alex Bregman and Eugenio Suarez, among others.
Cool!
Depending upon the dollars, reunions with Keller, Pomeranz and Thielbar all seemed possible. Keller has to be willing to work in relief and is the one who may cost more than Ricketts will ok.
Keller’s gonna cost a lot more. But I hope they can sign him. Get the band back together.
I predict 2 years at $22 million.
To the Phillies?
Haha.
Keller was more than twice as much. I like this signing a lot better.
Keller and Pomeranz are off the Board. Now it is time to acquire a good starting pitcher.
Imai, Ranger, Framber, King, Gallen all available, though Gallen seems too risky to me
Gallen is the only one in their price range–and even that is a maybe. Someone like Corbin is likely to be their “big” starter signing.
I thought I’ve been told Jed and Tom are cheap. How is this reunion even possible?
Because Caleb is cheap
Hearing my Cubs have interest in Michael King. If they offer $100 million for 5 years he might consider coming. Thinking Red Sox or Yankees for the Kinger.
God I hope not. That would be flushing money down the toilet IMO. There’s enough risk in signing FA pitchers without signing one who’s hurt already for 5 years no less. Hard Pass for me. That’s something Jed could do to tee me off.
Unc- But you definitely want Imai to sign with the Cubs? I’m definitely fine with King goin back to the Yankees. Hopefully it happens.
If it comes down to signing the younger guy who as far as I know hasn’t had any arm problems for over 20 million a year put me down for the younger healthy guy every time. In a time where any pitchers next pitch might be his last for a year and a half, Youth prevails.
Another reliever off the market. Another good sign for the Astros to capitalize on Abreu’s value. Cubs I am so jealous Astros still do NOTHING big.
Stingy Craig Bresloom couldn’t beat the small market Cubs offer?
Can’t believe Breslow didn’t sign every FA! The nerve!!!)
Cubs assembling a nice Bullpen this winter
I recall seeing a commenter wishing for a Thielbar re-signing after the Cubs signed Phil Maton and Hoby Milner. Nice to see the front office came through!
Finally some Cubs news. This was a good re-signing
Non-zero chance he will be Brian Duensing 2.0.
Fun fact, Brian was Alex Gordon’s roommate at UNL (Nebraska)
Incorrect observation that, “Thielbar…spent his entire career prior to the 2025 season with his hometown Twins.”
He was in the Tigers and (briefly) Braves minor league systems in 2018 and 2019. I was always surprised that the Tigers never called him up.
I’m sorry that reading and comprehension is so hard.
“Thielbar, 39 in January, spent his entire BIG LEAGUE CAREER prior to the 2025 season with his hometown Twins.”
Stops with the Braves and Tigers were NOT big league.
Therefore, his only MLB appearances have come with the Twins and the Cubs.
Chad, don’t be so insulting. Steve Adams edited his original post from what I quoted (verbatim!). Did that occur to you, or are you just a rude slug?
Vote here is rude slug.
While Chad may be rude, you were being petty in your post. The two of you are about equal
The Milner signing coupled with Thielbar now and Little seems to mean that Pomeranz wanted more money than the Cubs wanted to pay It’s not bad signing but I think the odds of Thielbar running back last year aren’t very good. Now the Cubs have guys with options, Assad, Brown, Wicks, Hodge, Neely. Maton, Palencia from the right. One more veteran RH reliever and Imai and call it a wrap.
The Cubs can still use an impact bat to help replace FA Kyle Tucker assuming he signs elsewhere. Tom Ricketts should be grateful that he has Unclemike as his fan voice on MLBTR.
No need for a bat. They will run that spot from within, just as good or better than most free agents available and much cheaper!
Cubs farm system is just as good as the Brewers. The only difference is the way they use them. I don’t really care what Callis and his awkward friends say. They really still need Keller, Or at the very least somebody like him.
Tom Ricketts will be happier with kidbryant also on board with his spending strategy.
Milwaukee has little choice when it comes to their budget. The Cubs should have a huge market advantage in the NL Central as its only big city club.
Keep giving Ricketts kudos and be satisfied when the Cubs not only fail to win the division but linger way behind the big-boy Dodgers, Phillies and eventually the Mets for NL dominance and a better chance for the World Series.
I don’t think joining them and spending like drunken sailors is the best way to beat them. Just read the Dodgers owe over a billion dollars deferred until 2047. I don’t really care what business you’re in that’s just ridiculous. 250 million a year should be plenty to field a good baseball team capable of winning a WS. If it’s done right.
The Brewers farm system has generally been better than the Cubs during the recent past. That’s also when they have taken control of the NL Central.
The Brewers have less choice financially when it comes to developing their young talent and then plugging them into their MLB roster.
Big market teams have a choice to either promote or trade their prospects for a chance at titles. The Dodgers are the prime example of this strategy while the Cubs act more like a mid-market team that seems content in playing down to their divisional competition. :-(
Ricketts also spent over a billion dollars of his own money to rebuild the park and the neighborhood. nobody seems to remember that or just uses selective memory I guess. With zero help from the state or the city.. I think you should be allowed to recoup the first billion you spend before people demand you spend another billion. It would only be fair. Why don’t you lend it to him?
I think Maton should be fine in a set up role.
It comes down to Palencia becoming a stable closer.
Spending big just hides screw ups and injuries better.
That’s right Uncle. Additionally, all those bills for new construction and remodeling around the area are going to be paid off in 2026. Impressive. And all that money coming off the Team payroll in 2026 as well. The current CBA also expires. A truly master plan is being executed before our eyes.
That is the problem. Dodgers have SF that will spend. NYY have Boston. NYM has Philly.
So the Cubs have no rival financialy which allows Jed to casually toss 200M and say I did enough. look at 136M and 126M there.
Good for Tom Ricketts in giving him even more avenues to add to his immense passed down family wealth. All this was done to line their pockets without needing the Cubs to actually act like a big market MLB team that’s more interested in contending for titles every year. You should be Tom’s PR rep on fan sites and social media. You could also sell his b.s. in regards to the Cubs and his Marquee Sports network and the battle he had with the rooftop owners among other issues.
This will all be OK until the Ricketts finally get some baseball competition on the other side of town when Justin Ishbia and his family take control of the White Sox. I expect the Ishbia’s will eventually finance their own state-of-the art retractable roof stadium in a convenient western suburb that will provide suburban Chicago baseball fans more comfort and less headaches than trying to navigate a trip to Wrigley Field.
The McCaskey family was forced into this path with the Bears and I expect Ishbia will do likewise with the White Sox. I also anticipate Ishbia will leave no stone unturned when it comes to spending on his ball club and not play down to all the other smaller market teams in the AL Central.
@ kidbryant. The Cube are definitely in a position to fill some hitting needs from within – – however the spots they can fill from within, are LH hitters. The Cubs need to add a decent RH bat to their lineup. Unless you are sold on Matt Shaw.
IMHO Shaw has a whole lot to prove with his hitting. He’s far from having proven anything, except that he can play 3B decent. The only RH bats the Cubs can count on at this time are Seiya and Hoerner. Happ doesn’t excite many people when he hits RH.
I’d like to see the Cubs sign a good RH hitter who can play 3B and LF.
Mike… Ricketts investments “in the park and the surrounding area” have benefited HIM more than anyone else. And none of that does anything for the actual quality of the team on the field. And you can naysay the Dodgers all day long, but because of their unreal TV/radio rights deal which makes a tremendous amount of money – something the Cubs have failed to do- (Marquee is a joke)- they can spend whatever they need to spend to get the guys they want. I get that Tommy boy can’t spend like that, but his small market mentality is a joke. They absolutely need a front line starter and if he gets off his wallet for one, I’ll be shocked. Right now, there is NO ONE in the farm system who can even come close to filling that spot. And the guys you think that can fill in for the lost offense Tucker provided, are unproven at the full season major league level. A bunch of ‘maybes’ is not how you follow up a 92 win season.
Right. A “master plan” for making Tommy boy more money. None of it makes for a better team on the field. He’s a joke.
The Ricketts family are a group of people who have significant financial intellect and acumen. They purchased the Cubs and Wrigley Field for 845 million in 2009 for 95 percent of said purchase. The remaining 5 percent is The Tribune Company investors who are on the board to this day. Currently, the team is valued at 4.5 billion. Most if the new construction and remodeling was funded by the team revenue. All of what’s happening now, no ridiculously expensive long team contracts, deferred money, all the contraction money about paid off, the expiration of the current CBA has been by design. It’s not random or just happened that way. There’s a plan in place.
Cardinals fans beg to differ. St Louis and the surrounding area is not small.
The Cubs have guys who have earned a chance to contend for MLB AB’s. Triantos has played all the way up the Minors and can play 7 positions legitimately. You have Jonathan Long who has hit everywhere he’s been with power and hit .300 and can play 1st, 3rd and OF. This is where Hoyer fails to give them the chance they deserve. Just because a couple didn’t work out, Is no reason to stick them in the Minors. They need real shots in ST to see if they can play and more importantly let them learn how to adapt and make changes. I mean at this point who are you going to get to be bench guys who hit .300? If they could they’d have full time gigs. It’s time to trust the process and see what’s what.
Brewers system has not been generally better the past several years. It’s arguably better now?
If division championships or wins and losses are the metric for “better” farm system the Brewers RULE the Cubs ! (And I am a Cub fan)
That pitching staff doesn’t look like it would play well in the playoffs.
Good move. He was fine last season and has as good a chance as any short-term lefty to be fine again next season.
Happy to have him back. I hope he can replicate this past season. Mahalo
He was fun to watch this year. I like the signing!
One of my favorite Cub things to watch this past season was Caleb’s walk off the mound after striking out a batter to end an inning.
It was like his follow through naturally carried him towards the Cubs dugout. One fluid motion all the way.
Over or under $8M?
Way under
My guess is 1 yr / 6MM w maybe some incentives.
Pomeranz probably wanted more money than what Hoyer was willing to pay. That’s fine, this is probably it for moves, although I’d like Imai.
Good move! Thielbar was so quietly solid all year
It’s almost Christmas! It’s almost like the Cubs are doing something! Like the Wild Card-almost.Yay!
Sign Imai and push Rea into swing man.
Early innings
Rea
Assad.
Lefties
Milner
Theibar
Set up
Maton
Brown
Closer
Palencia
One open spot for battle. Little, Wicks or Hodge
Little, Wicks and Hodge have all been shaky at the ML level. And they need another solid late inning reliever. Palencia was good but when he wasn’t- which was more frequent as the season went along- they had Keller to step in. They still need a “Keller”.
You said it best…it’s almost Christmas. How about you give us all a project and hold the trolling until next October.
I have a present-last time we chatted you bragged about the teams overall winning record. So, in 150 yrs of existence it’s .513 winning %,which equals 83 wins a year and throw in 3 , count them 3, World Championships. Wow
I didn’t brag about the overall record…I stated a simple fact that the Cubs franchise, as a franchise is the only one NEVER to have a cumulative record under .500 in the history of the sport.
Define it to fit your grand trollness, but since YOUR parameter meets the 150 year history of the franchise you can up the championship total to NINE.
lol- you know they have compound pharmacies to regulate estrogen levels properly. So many in the Cub cult get so emotional about true statistics. It must cut very deep. Have a wonderful holiday!
Figures- in the cheap. Just because he had good last year doesn’t mean it’ll carry over this year at age 39.
Did the dodgers or any of the top teams make offered to thielbar? Doubt it as their teams are positioning themselves to go after the big prize year after year.
After paying an exorbitant top $ for counsel and now reading about zombro it’s obvious the cubs would rather pay non-playing management than pay for any top free agent or be aggressive thru trade.
Plus in addition rickets would rather have park improvements or the neighborhood dealings!
Did Pomeranz sign with the angels more than thielbar with the cubs given that poneranz is 2 years younger than thielbar? Most definitely!
A new bregman suitor has entered the sweepstakes which means the non aggressive cubs chances goes down by the day!
Ok Sox fan.
There’s rumor out there that I’m Sox fan. Wrong, wrong, wrong although Sox future beginning to look brighter than cubs!
Jed hasn’t done anything to make me mad yet. what’s he waiting for? LOL
Keller to the Phillies for $22m for 2 years. Of course too much for the cubs budget to handle and besides Keller knows Phils much better to succeed than cubs no matter what he said about loving it in Chicago after last years. In the cheap cubbies!!!
Tyler Austin? Who cares because he won’t even play much if he makes team at all! MLB contract on top of it all! Worst thins he’s only 34 and not 40. What’s wrong with hoyer?