Caleb John Thielbar (born January 31, 1987) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the Minnesota Twins of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Twins in 2013.

Career

Early career

Thielbar attended Randolph High School in Randolph, Minnesota, and

South Dakota State University South Dakota State University is a public land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest and most comprehensive university and the oldest continually-operating university in South Dakota. The ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

for the

South Dakota State Jackrabbits The South Dakota State Jackrabbits are the 19 intercollegiate teams representing South Dakota State University that compete in the U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I (for football: Football Championship Subdivision). SDSU ...

. The Milwaukee Brewers selected Thielbar in the 18th round of the 2009 MLB draft. The Brewers released Thielbar in 2011, and he then pitched for the St. Paul Saints of the

American Association of Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

, a independent baseball league.

Minnesota Twins

Thielbar signed a minor league deal with the Minnesota Twins in August 2011. The Twins added him to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

after the 2012 season. On May 20, 2013, Twins promoted Thielbar to the major leagues. He made his MLB debut that day, pitching two innings. He became the first South Dakota State baseball player to reach MLB. He remained in the Twins bullpen for the remainder of the season, appearing in 49 games and pitching 46 innings with a 1.76 ERA and 0.826 WHIP. Thielbar began the 2014 season in the Twins bullpen, making 54 appearances in which he pitched and pitching to a 3.40 ERA. In 2015, he pitched five innings for the team. On July 31, 2015, he was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

after appearing in just 6 games.

San Diego Padres

On August 8, 2015,

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

claimed Thielbar off waivers from the Twins. The Padres assigned him to their Triple A affiliate, the

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in El Paso, Texas, and play their home games at Southwest University Park, which opened ...

, for whom he pitched 12.1 innings, giving up only one earned run. He was designated for assignment on August 30.

St. Paul Saints and Miami Marlins

On March 29, 2016, Thielbar signed with the St. Paul Saints of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. He was 5-2 with four saves and a 2.39 ERA in 64 innings. On November 17, 2016, Thielbar signed a minor league deal with the Miami Marlins. He was released on March 31, 2017. On May 27, 2017, Thielbar signed with St. Paul for the rest of the 2017 season. He was 2-1 with one save and a 2.01 ERA in 22.1 innings in which he struck out 23 batters.

Detroit Tigers

On January 23, 2018, Thielbar signed a minor league deal with the Detroit Tigers. He split the season between the AA Erie SeaWolves and the AAA

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

, and was a combined 7-1 with a 2.05 ERA in 57 innings. He resigned a minor league deal on October 30, 2018. He was assigned to AAA

for the 2019 season, for whom he was 2-1 with four saves and a 3.30 ERA, as in 76.1 innings he struck out 92 batters.

Atlanta Braves

On August 30, 2019, Thielbar was traded to the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

in exchange for cash considerations. He pitched two scoreless innings and had one save for the team's AAA affiliate in Gwinnett. He became a free agent following the 2019 season. After the season, on October 10, he was selected for the

United States national baseball team The United States national baseball team represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Team USA won the Olympic baseball t ...

in the 2019 WBSC Premier 12. In 2019, Thielbar became the pitching coach for Augustana College.

Second stint with Minnesota Twins

On December 13, 2019, Thielbar signed a minor league deal with the Minnesota Twins. He arranged to continue as pitching coach for Augustana. On August 3, 2020, the Twins selected Thielbar to the active roster. On August 4, he made his first appearance of the season and first in the majors in a little over four years. He finished the season with a 2.25 ERA in 17 games. Thielbar signed a one year, $650,000 contract for the 2021 season. On January 13, 2023, Thielbar agreed to a one-year, $2.4 million contract with the Twins, avoiding salary arbitration.

Personal life

Thielbar and his wife Carissa have one son together.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thielbar, Caleb 1987 births Living people Arizona League Brewers players Augustana (South Dakota) Vikings baseball coaches Baseball players from Minnesota El Paso Chihuahuas players Erie SeaWolves players Fort Myers Miracle players Gwinnett Stripers players Helena Brewers players Major League Baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players New Britain Rock Cats players People from Northfield, Minnesota Peoria Javelinas players Rochester Red Wings players South Dakota State Jackrabbits baseball players St. Paul Saints players Toledo Mud Hens players United States national baseball team players Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players 2019 WBSC Premier12 players