Caleb Thielbar’s hold on a Cubs roster spot is looking shakier by the day, and Tuesday night only made the case stronger.
The veteran left-hander was one of the bullpen’s October lifelines last season, but this year’s version has been far less reliable. In an extra-inning game Tuesday, with Chicago’s bullpen already running on fumes, Thielbar gave up three runs on two hits in one inning. That pushed his ERA to 4.99 across 57 appearances with the Cubs.
The strikeouts are still there. Thielbar has punched out hitters more than 28% of the time this season.
But the damage has piled up too, and he’s also allowing more than two homers per nine innings pitched. That’s a tough mix for a pitcher whose job is supposed to be getting the Cubs out of jams, not creating new ones.
His place on the roster has been helped by circumstance as much as performance. Chicago has spent much of the season without much dependable left-handed relief depth, and the hope was that Thielbar and Hoby Milner could fill that lane for Craig Counsell. Instead, it’s mostly been Ryan Rolison carrying that burden.
With only five games left in the regular season, the Cubs don’t have much reason to cut Thielbar loose now. They need every arm they can find, especially after Tuesday’s 12-inning game and with a likely double-header against the Boston Red Sox this weekend looming.
The playoff picture is different, though. Thielbar’s chances of making that roster look slim, and the Cubs can afford to be more selective there. Rolison should be the main left-on-left weapon, and the bullpen could also include at least one left-handed starter from the group of Matthew Boyd, David Peterson, and Shota Imanaga.
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