Caleb Thielbar’s run with the Cubs may be over, and while the idea of a homecoming in Minnesota has obvious appeal, the Twins probably need to look elsewhere for bullpen help.
The Minnesota native and former Twins left-hander is headed for free agency after two seasons in Chicago, but his 2026 season was a step backward. Thielbar finished with a 4.86 ERA over 50 innings, a sharp drop from the year before.
He had been excellent in 2025, putting up a 2.64 ERA with 56 strikeouts in 58 innings and tossing 3 2/3 scoreless innings in the postseason. Chicago then brought him back on a one-year, $4.25 million deal after the season.
Even with a $6 million mutual option for 2027, the Cubs are almost certain to decline it. Mutual options almost never get exercised anyway, and that one hasn’t happened in over a decade.
For Minnesota, the bigger point is need. The Twins do need relief help next season, but Thielbar doesn’t look like the right fit at this stage.
He’ll be 40 in January, and after a rough 2026, he may be nearing the end. Retirement this offseason wouldn’t be a surprise.
If the Twins wanted to take a flyer on a minor-league deal, that’s one thing. But even that would only make sense if the club built the bullpen so thoroughly that a non-roster invite wouldn’t have a realistic path to the Opening Day roster.
Still, if Thielbar signed that kind of contract, his Minnesota roots and long history with the organization could make a Triple-A St. Paul assignment more palatable.
Thielbar’s story with the Twins goes back a long way. He debuted in the majors with Minnesota in 2013 and posted a 1.76 ERA over 46 innings as a rookie. He followed that with a 3.40 ERA in 47 2/3 innings in 2014, then appeared in just six games in 2015.
After that season, he didn’t return to the majors until 2020. Thielbar spent most of 2015 and all of 2016-19 in the minors, and after 2019 he even took a job as Augustana University’s pitching coach. He gave playing one more try, came back to the Twins in 2020, and eventually became one of the club’s key bullpen arms from 2020-25.
Across 10 big league seasons, Thielbar has a 3.45 ERA with 463 strikeouts over 428 innings. It’s been a strong career. It also looks like one that could be nearing the finish line.
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