Chicago Cubs call up emergency arm who hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2023

The Chicago Cubs made it official on Friday—lefty reliever Caleb Thielbar would be going on the 15-day IL with a mild left hamstring strain. The injury was suffered in the ninth inning of Thursday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies.

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The injury marks the latest chapter in a season-long run of pitching injuries that has decimated the staff and has forced the Cubs to dip into their reserve of emergency arms way earlier—and way more extensively—than expected.

Vince Velasquez called up from Triple-A Iowa

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Caleb’s injury has led to the Cubs calling up offseason addition Vince Velasquez, who was picked up on a minor league contract in early February amid a massive stockpiling of arms that now seems absolutely prescient.

The 33-year-old Velasquez has been plagued with assorted injuries throughout his career as a pro and has two Tommy John surgeries in his past (2010 and 2023). After recovering from his 2023 surgery, he spent some time in the Korean league as well as in the Cleveland Guardians minor league system in 2025 before being signed by the Cubs.

Although the right-hander has had spots of success here and there throughout his big league career, the 9-year veteran has never been able to put together a sustained quality run at the major league level. Over stints with the Phillies, White Sox, Astros, Pirates, and Padres, he’s delivered a 38-51 record with a 4.88 ERA over 191 games and 763.2 innings.

With the Triple-A Iowa Cubs this season, he’s posted a 3.71 ERA through four games (3 starts).

Victory in the face of adversity

The Cubs, so far this season, have been beleaguered with pitching injuries, seemingly one right after the other.

They lost emerging ace Cade Horton after season-ending elbow surgery. Opening Day starter Matthew Boyd went on the IL with a left biceps strain. Then came Phil Maton (right knee tendonitis), Hunter Harvey (right triceps inflammation), Ethan Roberts (finger laceration), Daniel Palencia (lat strain), and now Thielbar. Down in Iowa, reliever Porter Hodge was lost for the season after UCL surgery and even top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins had to be shelved with right elbow inflammation.

Still, the Cubs keep managing to win. They’re currently on a 10-game winning streak as they head into Saturday’s game against the Dodgers in Los Angeles, the second of their series. In Friday’s 6-4 comeback win at Dodger Stadium, Ryan Rolison and Corbin Martin—two offseason depth pieces signed to minor league contracts—combined for 4 scoreless innings of relief.

Manager Craig Counsell can’t help but marvel at what the team has been able to do in the face of such adversity.

“Injuries add up at some point, right?” Counsell told reporters on Friday. “We’ve lost a lot of bodies and when you’ve lost that many bodies, it gets hard to keep replacing them with the same quality, frankly…The guys have done a great job. Frankly, we’ve got some tired guys right now, but they’re doing a heck of a job. We have not sacrificed any quality to this point, to my eyes. These guys have pitched great…It’s one of the reasons we’ve been able to put together this nice run…but there’s a limit to what can happen.”

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Source: https://www.chicitysports.com/chicago-cubs-call-up-emergency-pitcher-vince-velasquez-craig-counsell/