Who Should I Trade?

Caleb Thielbar for Josh Ekness (2026)

Summary
Stats
Projections
News & Notes
Schedule

Who Should I Trade? Player Summaries
	Experts' Pick
	Caleb Thielbar RP - CHC	Josh Ekness RP - MIA
Expert Recommendation	67% Recommended by 2 of 3 experts	33% Recommended by 1 of 3 experts
Rankings

Rest of Season	# 220	‐
VBR	# 396	# 712

Projections

Strikeouts	18	14
Wins	1	1
Saves	1	0
ERA	3.97	4.41
WHIP	1.23	1.52

Misc

Injury Alert	-	-

Expert Ranks

Mike Maher BettingPros	# 208	‐

Kelly Kirby FantasyPros	# 170	‐

Kevin Spinelli KevScores	# 323	# 275

Who Should I Trade? Player Statistics
	Caleb Thielbar RP - CHC	Josh Ekness RP - MIA
2026 Stats


Games Played	40	7

Games Started	0	0

Innings Pitched	34.1	6.1

Wins	3	0

Losses	2	0

Saves	3	1

Blown Saves	4	1

Holds	7	0

Hits Allowed	33	3

Earned Runs	19	1

Home Runs Allowed	10	0

Strikeouts	43	5

Walks	13	5

ERA	4.98	1.42

WHIP	1.34	1.26

Who Should I Trade? Player Projections
	Caleb Thielbar RP - CHC	Josh Ekness RP - MIA
2026 Projections


Games Played	19	16

Games Started	0	0

Innings Pitched	16.5	13.5

Wins	1	1

Losses	1	1

Saves	1	0

Blown Saves	0	0

Holds	4	1

Hits Allowed	14	12

Earned Runs	7	7

Home Runs Allowed	2	2

Strikeouts	18	14

Walks	6	7

ERA	3.97	4.41

WHIP	1.23	1.52

Who Should I Trade? Player Notes
	Caleb Thielbar RP - CHC	Josh Ekness RP - MIA
News
	Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Caleb Thielbar is scheduled to throw a live batting practice session on Wednesday ahead of a minor league rehab assignment. Nicholas Rodriguez Mon, May 11th	Josh Ekness made his latest rehab appearance on Saturday. Ari Koslow Mon, Aug 3rd
	Caleb Thielbar threw a successful bullpen session on Friday. Ari Koslow Fri, May 8th	Josh Ekness made his latest rehab appearance on Tuesday. Ari Koslow Fri, Jul 31st
	Caleb Thielbar threw a bullpen session on Tuesday and is scheduled for a high-intensity session on Friday. Nicholas Rodriguez Thu, May 7th	Josh Ekness is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment on Saturday. Ari Koslow Sat, Jul 25th
	The Cubs placed LHP Caleb Thielbar on the 15-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. Ari Koslow Sat, Apr 25th	Josh Ekness will begin a rehab assignment on Thursday with Triple-A Jacksonville. Ari Koslow Wed, Jul 22nd
	Cubs’ manager Craig Counsell told reporters Thursday that Caleb Thielbar exited in the ninth inning due to left hamstring tightness. Ari Koslow Thu, Apr 23rd	Josh Ekness is in the late stages of his progression. Ari Koslow Fri, Jul 17th
Notes
There are no recent notes for these players

Who Should I Trade? Player Schedules
Date	Opp	Opp Pitcher	VBR	Opp	Opp Pitcher	VBR
	Caleb Thielbar RP - CHC			Josh Ekness RP - MIA
Thu, Mar 26th	vs WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-5)	#68
Sat, Mar 28th	vs WSH	Miles Mikolas (3-8)	#286	vs COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-10)	#435
Sun, Mar 29th	vs WSH	Jake Irvin (2-5)	#164	vs COL	Jose Quintana (2-3)	#429
Mon, Mar 30th	vs LAA	Ryan Johnson (2-6)	#215	vs CWS	Davis Martin (9-6)	#99
Tue, Mar 31st	vs LAA	Jose Soriano (9-6)	#47	vs CWS	Erick Fedde (6-6)	#361
Wed, Apr 1st	vs LAA	Yusei Kikuchi (0-3)	#103	vs CWS	Shane Smith (0-2)	#225
Fri, Apr 3rd	@ CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-7)	#78	@ NYY	Will Warren (8-6)	#60
Sun, Apr 5th	@ CLE	Parker Messick (8-6)	#40	@ NYY	Max Fried (4-3)	#14
Mon, Apr 6th	@ TB	Shane McClanahan (9-6)	#62	vs CIN	Brandon Williamson (2-3)	#325
Tue, Apr 7th	@ TB	Mason Englert (0-3)	#305	vs CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-7)	#124
Wed, Apr 8th	@ TB	Joe Boyle (0-1)	#337	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#141
Fri, Apr 10th	vs PIT	Carmen Mlodzinski (6-3)	#97	@ DET	Keider Montero (8-6)	#92
Sat, Apr 11th	vs PIT	Braxton Ashcraft (11-4)	#33	@ DET	Casey Mize (4-7)	#38
Sun, Apr 12th	vs PIT	Bubba Chandler (4-8)	#127	@ DET	Tarik Skubal (7-6)	#2
Mon, Apr 13th	@ PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (14-4)	#4	@ ATL	Grant Holmes (7-4)	#163
Tue, Apr 14th	@ PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#54	@ ATL	Reynaldo Lopez (4-3)	#109
Wed, Apr 15th	@ PHI	Jesus Luzardo (10-5)	#9	@ ATL	Bryce Elder (8-6)	#132
Fri, Apr 17th	vs NYM	Kodai Senga (0-8)	#114	vs MIL	Coleman Crow (0-1)	#330
Sat, Apr 18th	vs NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#46	vs MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)
Sun, Apr 19th	vs NYM	Tobias Myers (0-2)	#184	vs MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (11-5)	#7
Mon, Apr 20th	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#54	vs STL	Michael McGreevy (4-9)	#82
Tue, Apr 21st	vs PHI	Jesus Luzardo (10-5)	#9	vs STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#53
Wed, Apr 22nd	vs PHI	Kyle Backhus		vs STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#119
Thu, Apr 23rd	vs PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (14-4)	#4
Fri, Apr 24th	@ LAD	Emmet Sheehan (4-8)	#118	@ SF	Adrian Houser (2-7)	#175
Sat, Apr 25th	@ LAD	Roki Sasaki (5-5)	#83	@ SF	Robbie Ray (10-6)	#89
Sun, Apr 26th	@ LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-3)	#85	@ SF	Landen Roupp (7-10)	#64
Mon, Apr 27th	@ SD	Randy Vasquez (7-6)	#298	@ LAD	Yoshinobu Yamamoto (11-7)	#13
Tue, Apr 28th	@ SD	Walker Buehler (6-5)	#248	@ LAD	Shohei Ohtani (8-2)	#1
Wed, Apr 29th	@ SD	Matt Waldron (1-2)	#356	@ LAD	Tyler Glasnow (3-0)	#61
Fri, May 1st	vs ARI	Zac Gallen (3-9)	#228	vs PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#5
Sat, May 2nd	vs ARI	Ryne Nelson (3-5)	#194	vs PHI	Andrew Painter (1-8)	#208
Sun, May 3rd	vs ARI	Merrill Kelly (8-9)	#115	vs PHI	Jesus Luzardo (10-5)	#9
Mon, May 4th	vs CIN	Chase Petty (1-2)	#362	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#54
Tue, May 5th	vs CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-7)	#124	vs BAL	Chris Bassitt (4-4)	#142
Wed, May 6th	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#141	vs BAL	Brandon Young (8-2)	#131
Thu, May 7th	vs CIN	Rhett Lowder (4-7)	#282	vs BAL	Cade Povich (2-1)	#197
Fri, May 8th	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (4-8)	#101	vs WSH	Foster Griffin (12-3)	#69
Sat, May 9th	@ TEX	Jack Leiter (3-7)	#122	vs WSH	Richard Lovelady (2-4)	#355
Sun, May 10th	@ TEX	Jacob deGrom (7-7)	#11	vs WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-5)	#68
Tue, May 12th	@ ATL	Grant Holmes (7-4)	#163	@ MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#76
Wed, May 13th	@ ATL	JR Ritchie (1-2)	#290	@ MIN	Simeon Woods Richardson (1-7)
Thu, May 14th	@ ATL	Chris Sale (12-6)	#6	@ MIN	Zebby Matthews (4-8)	#117
Fri, May 15th	@ CWS	Sean Burke (7-6)	#74	@ TB	Ian Seymour (8-3)	#79
Sat, May 16th	@ CWS	Davis Martin (9-6)	#99	@ TB	Nick Martinez (11-3)	#86
Sun, May 17th	@ CWS	Erick Fedde (6-6)	#361	@ TB	Drew Rasmussen (10-5)	#16
Mon, May 18th	vs MIL	Brandon Sproat (3-7)	#192	vs ATL	JR Ritchie (1-2)	#290
Tue, May 19th	vs MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (11-5)	#7	vs ATL	Martin Perez (7-6)	#191
Wed, May 20th	vs MIL	Kyle Harrison (9-2)	#52	vs ATL	Chris Sale (12-6)	#6
Fri, May 22nd	vs HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#269	vs NYM	Tobias Myers (0-2)	#184
Sat, May 23rd	vs HOU	Kai-Wei Teng (5-6)	#257	vs NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#46
Sun, May 24th	vs HOU	Peter Lambert (8-5)	#143	vs NYM	Christian Scott (3-3)	#43
Mon, May 25th	@ PIT	Carmen Mlodzinski (6-3)	#97	@ TOR	Trey Yesavage (5-5)	#102
Tue, May 26th	@ PIT	Braxton Ashcraft (11-4)	#33	@ TOR	Braydon Fisher (3-3)	#179
Wed, May 27th	@ PIT	Bubba Chandler (4-8)	#127	@ TOR	Kevin Gausman (5-10)	#28
Thu, May 28th	@ PIT	Paul Skenes (9-10)	#3
Fri, May 29th	@ STL	Andre Pallante (12-6)	#98	@ NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#46
Sat, May 30th	@ STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#119	@ NYM	Christian Scott (3-3)	#43
Sun, May 31st	@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-8)	#77	@ NYM	Nolan McLean (7-7)	#34
Tue, Jun 2nd	vs ATH	Gage Jump (4-7)	#106	@ WSH	Richard Lovelady (2-4)	#355
Wed, Jun 3rd	vs ATH	Jeffrey Springs (3-11)	#332	@ WSH	Andrew Alvarez (2-3)	#181
Thu, Jun 4th	vs ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#151
Fri, Jun 5th	vs SF	Robbie Ray (10-6)	#89	vs TB	Drew Rasmussen (10-5)	#16
Sat, Jun 6th	vs SF	Landen Roupp (7-10)	#64	vs TB	Shane McClanahan (9-6)	#62
Sun, Jun 7th	vs SF	Trevor McDonald (3-7)		vs TB	Griffin Jax (6-9)	#44
Tue, Jun 9th	@ COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (11-5)	#438	vs ARI	Zac Gallen (3-9)	#228
Wed, Jun 10th	@ COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-10)	#435	vs ARI	Ryne Nelson (3-5)	#194
Thu, Jun 11th	@ COL	Ryan Feltner (4-5)	#434	vs ARI	Merrill Kelly (8-9)	#115
Fri, Jun 12th	@ SF	Landen Roupp (7-10)	#64	@ PIT	Braxton Ashcraft (11-4)	#33
Sat, Jun 13th	@ SF	Trevor McDonald (3-7)		@ PIT	Bubba Chandler (4-8)	#127
Sun, Jun 14th	@ SF	Logan Webb (7-7)	#15	@ PIT	Paul Skenes (9-10)	#3
Mon, Jun 15th	vs COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-10)	#435	@ PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#5
Tue, Jun 16th	vs COL	Ryan Feltner (4-5)	#434	@ PHI	Jesus Luzardo (10-5)	#9
Wed, Jun 17th	vs COL	Sean Sullivan (0-3)	#432	@ PHI	Andrew Painter (1-8)	#208
Fri, Jun 19th	vs TOR	Kevin Gausman (5-10)	#28	vs SF	Landen Roupp (7-10)	#64
Sat, Jun 20th	vs TOR	Patrick Corbin (3-4)	#378	vs SF	Trevor McDonald (3-7)
Tue, Jun 23rd	@ NYM	Kodai Senga (0-8)	#114	vs TEX	Cal Quantrill (4-4)	#283
Wed, Jun 24th	@ NYM	Sean Manaea (3-5)	#66	vs TEX	Jacob deGrom (7-7)	#11
Thu, Jun 25th	@ NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#46
Fri, Jun 26th	@ MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (11-5)	#7	@ STL	Michael McGreevy (4-9)	#82
Sat, Jun 27th	@ MIL	Kyle Harrison (9-2)	#52	@ STL	Andre Pallante (12-6)	#98
Sun, Jun 28th	@ MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)		@ STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#119
Mon, Jun 29th	vs SD	Griffin Canning (3-9)	#189	@ COL	Sean Sullivan (0-3)	#432
Tue, Jun 30th	vs SD	JP Sears (3-4)	#258	@ COL	Tanner Gordon (0-2)	#420
Wed, Jul 1st	vs SD	Walker Buehler (6-5)	#248	@ COL	Kyle Freeland (3-10)	#304
Fri, Jul 3rd	vs STL	Andre Pallante (12-6)	#98	@ ATH	Jack Perkins (2-7)	#87
Sat, Jul 4th	vs STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#119	@ ATH	Aaron Civale (5-7)	#185
Sun, Jul 5th	vs STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-8)	#77	@ ATH	Gage Jump (4-7)	#106
Tue, Jul 7th	@ BAL	Shane Baz (4-10)	#59	vs SEA	Bryan Woo (8-8)	#10
Wed, Jul 8th	@ BAL	Dean Kremer (1-4)	#108	vs SEA	George Kirby (8-9)	#18
Thu, Jul 9th	@ BAL	Trevor Rogers (7-7)	#63	vs SEA	Bryce Miller (4-5)	#35
Fri, Jul 10th	@ CIN	Hunter Greene (2-2)	#26	vs CLE	Parker Messick (8-6)	#40
Sat, Jul 11th	@ CIN	Nick Lodolo (3-2)	#110	vs CLE	Tanner Bibee (4-11)	#50
Sun, Jul 12th	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-7)	#124	vs CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-7)	#78
Fri, Jul 17th	vs MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#76	@ MIL	Logan Henderson (6-1)	#45
Sat, Jul 18th	vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#48	@ MIL	Shane Drohan (6-4)	#93
Sun, Jul 19th	vs MIN	Zebby Matthews (4-8)	#117	@ MIL	Robert Gasser (3-4)	#150
Mon, Jul 20th	vs DET	Jack Flaherty (3-8)	#84	@ HOU	Ronel Blanco (0-1)	#123
Tue, Jul 21st	vs DET	Framber Valdez (6-7)	#31	@ HOU	Tatsuya Imai (6-4)	#129
Wed, Jul 22nd	vs DET	Keider Montero (8-6)	#92	@ HOU	Peter Lambert (8-5)	#143
Fri, Jul 24th	@ PIT	Jared Jones (2-3)	#56	vs SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#368
Sat, Jul 25th	@ PIT	Paul Skenes (9-10)	#3	vs SD	Randy Vasquez (7-6)	#298
Sun, Jul 26th	@ PIT	Braxton Ashcraft (11-4)	#33	vs SD	Walker Buehler (6-5)	#248
Mon, Jul 27th	@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-8)	#77	vs PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-2)	#5
Tue, Jul 28th	@ STL	Michael McGreevy (4-9)	#82	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#54
Wed, Jul 29th	@ STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#53	vs PHI	Jesus Luzardo (10-5)	#9
Thu, Jul 30th	@ STL	Andre Pallante (12-6)	#98	@ NYM	Nolan McLean (7-7)	#34
Fri, Jul 31st	vs NYY	Will Warren (8-6)	#60	@ NYM	Kodai Senga (0-8)	#114
Sat, Aug 1st	vs NYY	Max Fried (4-3)	#14	@ NYM	Zac Thornton (2-2)	#147
Sun, Aug 2nd	vs NYY	Gerrit Cole (5-5)	#27	@ NYM	Robert Stock (0-1)	#245
Mon, Aug 3rd	vs LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-3)	#85
Tue, Aug 4th	vs LAD	Tarik Skubal (7-6)	#2	@ ATL	Grant Holmes (7-4)	#163
Wed, Aug 5th	vs LAD	Eric Lauer (6-6)	#314	@ ATL	Bryce Elder (8-6)	#132
Thu, Aug 6th	vs TOR	Dylan Cease (7-5)	#8	@ ATL	Martin Perez (7-6)	#191
Fri, Aug 7th	@ KC	Luinder Avila (5-4)	#312	vs LAA	George Klassen (0-1)	#287
Sat, Aug 8th	@ KC	Seth Lugo (4-7)	#120	vs LAA	Walbert Urena (7-7)	#259
Sun, Aug 9th	@ KC	Randy Dobnak (2-0)	#437	vs LAA	Grayson Rodriguez (3-4)	#107
Tue, Aug 11th	@ WSH	Jake Irvin (2-5)	#164	vs PIT	Paul Skenes (9-10)	#3
Wed, Aug 12th	@ WSH	Miles Mikolas (3-8)	#286	vs PIT	Braxton Ashcraft (11-4)	#33
Thu, Aug 13th	@ WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-5)	#68	vs PIT	Carmen Mlodzinski (6-3)	#97
Fri, Aug 14th	vs STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-8)	#77	@ CIN	Chase Burns (13-1)	#23
Sat, Aug 15th	vs STL	Michael McGreevy (4-9)	#82	@ CIN	Brady Singer (5-10)	#141
Sun, Aug 16th	vs STL			@ CIN
Mon, Aug 17th	vs CWS			@ PHI
Tue, Aug 18th	vs CWS			@ PHI
Wed, Aug 19th	vs CWS			@ PHI
Fri, Aug 21st	@ SEA			vs WSH
Sat, Aug 22nd	@ SEA			vs WSH
Sun, Aug 23rd	@ SEA			vs WSH
Mon, Aug 24th	@ ARI			vs BOS
Tue, Aug 25th	@ ARI			vs BOS
Wed, Aug 26th	@ ARI			vs BOS
Fri, Aug 28th	vs CIN			@ WSH
Sat, Aug 29th	vs CIN			@ WSH
Sun, Aug 30th	vs CIN			@ WSH
Mon, Aug 31st	vs MIL			@ WSH
Tue, Sep 1st	vs MIL			@ KC
Wed, Sep 2nd	vs MIL			@ KC
Thu, Sep 3rd	vs MIL			@ KC
Fri, Sep 4th	@ MIA			vs CHC
Sat, Sep 5th	@ MIA			vs CHC
Sun, Sep 6th	@ MIA			vs CHC
Mon, Sep 7th	@ MIL			vs NYM
Tue, Sep 8th	@ MIL			vs NYM
Wed, Sep 9th	@ MIL			vs NYM
Fri, Sep 11th	vs PIT			vs LAD
Sat, Sep 12th	vs PIT			vs LAD
Sun, Sep 13th	vs PIT			vs LAD
Mon, Sep 14th	vs ATL			@ ARI
Tue, Sep 15th	vs ATL			@ ARI
Wed, Sep 16th	vs ATL			@ ARI
Fri, Sep 18th	@ CIN			@ SD
Sat, Sep 19th	@ CIN			@ SD
Sun, Sep 20th	@ CIN			@ SD
Tue, Sep 22nd	vs MIA			@ CHC
Wed, Sep 23rd	vs MIA			@ CHC
Thu, Sep 24th	vs MIA			@ CHC
Fri, Sep 25th	@ BOS			vs ATL
Sat, Sep 26th	@ BOS			vs ATL
Sun, Sep 27th	@ BOS			vs ATL
Fri, Mar 27th				vs COL	Kyle Freeland (3-10)	#304
Sat, Apr 4th				@ NYY	Ryan Weathers (5-7)	#58
Thu, Apr 9th				vs CIN	Rhett Lowder (4-7)	#282
Thu, May 21st				vs ATL	Spencer Strider (4-2)	#353
Mon, Jun 1st				@ WSH	Cade Cavalli (8-5)	#68
Sun, Jun 21st				vs SF	Logan Webb (7-7)	#15
Mon, Jun 22nd				vs TEX	Tyler Alexander (2-2)	#171
Thu, Jul 2nd				@ COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-10)	#435

Who Should I Trade?

Caleb Thielbar for Josh Ekness (2026)

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