LOS ANGELES — The Cubs’ bullpen has been surprisingly resilient through a wave of injuries that have riddled the staff over the first month of the season. The group will once again be tasked with making up for the loss of one of its key arms.
Prior to Friday’s game against the Dodgers, the Cubs placed veteran lefty Caleb Thielbar on the 15-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain. In need of an arm capable of covering multiple innings, the North Siders selected the contract of righty Vince Velasquez from Triple-A Iowa to assume a spot in the relief corps.
“Right now, one day out, we think it’s on the mild side,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said of Thielbar’s setback. “We’ll know more as we get through the week, but we’re hoping we can be fairly close to the minimum [amount of days] here.”
Counsell noted that the 39-year-old Thielbar dealt with a similar injury in 2022 and in ’24 with the Twins, but the lefty indicated to the Cubs that the current ailment seems less severe. Through 11 appearances this season, Thielbar has turned in a 3.12 ERA with 11 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings, picking up two saves.
Thielbar is the latest reliever to land on the 15-day IL, following righties Phil Maton (right knee), Daniel Palencia (left lat), Hunter Harvey (right triceps) and Ethan Roberts (lacerated right middle finger). Porter Hodge (out since Spring Training) recently underwent season-ending surgery on his right elbow and was transferred to the 60-day IL on Friday.
There have been some positive developments on the collective comeback trail.
Maton logged one scoreless inning in a Minor League rehab outing with Triple-A Iowa on Friday night. Palencia is set to throw off a mound on Saturday at Dodger Stadium. Harvey has resumed playing catch — the initial step in his throwing program. Roberts was back on a mound earlier this week.
The production has also been solid amid the losses. Entering Friday, the Cubs’ bullpen had a 3.54 ERA, ranking seventh in the National League and ninth in the Majors. The group’s 2.73 ERA dating back to April 8 — one day after Maton landed on the IL — was the fourth lowest in MLB in that span, entering Friday.
“When you’ve lost that many bodies, it gets hard to keep replacing them with the same quality, frankly,” Counsell said. “We have not sacrificed any quality at this point, in my eyes. These guys have pitched great. They’ve done a heck of a job. It’s one of the reasons why we’ve been able to put together this nice run. But there’s a limit to what can happen.”
Lopez rejoins Cubs for utility role
The Cubs acquired veteran utility man Nicky Lopez from the Rockies for cash considerations on Thursday and he officially joined the big league squad on Friday in L.A.
Chicago selected Lopez’s contract from Triple-A Iowa and cleared room on the active and 40-man rosters by designating infielder Scott Kingery for assignment. Lopez, 31, was batting .333 with seven extra-base hits and six walks in 15 games for Triple-A Albuquerque. He also has seven seasons of MLB experience, including a 14-game stint with Counsell’s Cubs last year.
Lopez will fill a similar role as Kingery did for Chicago, offering a solid defensive option around the infield. With Matt Shaw in a super utility role, Lopez gives Counsell an insurance infielder of sorts to help with the flexibility for making in-game pinch-hitting and pinch-running decisions.
“It’s largely going to be the same role that Scott served,” Counsell said. “Nothing’s going to change there. Nicky has familiarity with the group — kind of familiarity with us. We think that’s helpful. But, there’s not going to be a lot [of playing time] there.”
