The Minnesota Twins announced today that they have recalled left-handed pitcher Caleb Thielbar from Triple-A Rochester. Thielbar made 17 relief appearances for the Red Wings posting a 3.76 ERA (26.1 IP, 11 ER) with 34 strikeouts while allowing just eight walks. Thielbar was originally drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in round 18 of the 2009 amateur draft. Thielbar, 26, was signed by the Twins as a minor league free agent on August 18, 2011 after pitching for the St. Paul Saints.
Thielbar joined the team in Atlanta this evening wearing uniform number 56 and wasted no time making his big league debut and becoming the 29th native Minnesotan to wear a Twins uniform. Gardy brought Thielbar in to pitch in the 7th inning and Thielbar gave up a hit to the first Braves batter but then retired the next six batters striking out three and allowing no runs in his two innings. Thielbar threw 25 pitches in his big league debut and 20 were strikes.
To make room for Thielbar on the 25-man roster, the Twins optioned left-handed pitcher Pedro Hernandez to Triple-A Rochester. Hernandez made eight appearances (six starts) for the Twins this season.