Caleb Thielbar the latest Cubs pitcher to head to the injured list

LOS ANGELES — If you’ve seen “Sinners,” you were reminded what it takes to get rid of vampires.

Nicky Lopez is no vampire, but it’s clear that when it comes to how many lives he has with the Cubs, no one has driven a stake through his heart just yet.

“It feels unbelievable,’’ said the Naperville-raised Lopez, who was acquired — again — by the Cubs from Colorado, where he was playing in Triple-A Albuquerque for the Rockies and joined the big club Friday night.

“It feels like the first, second, third time I was with the team, a dream come true,’’ Lopez said. “It always is, to be able to put that jersey on. And I told you guys, like my grandpa is a die-hard Cubs fan, and he’s still with us, obviously.

“So whenever I can put a Cubs jersey on, it always makes me ride through him and the family, he said. Just again, to get that call from the Cubs — ‘Are you interested?’ It was a no-brainer.”

Lopez’s acquisition was one of a flurry of moves made by the Cubs, whose president of baseball operations, Jed Hoyer, is traveling with the club.

Lopez takes the roster spot of infielder Scott Kingery, who was designated for assignment two days after making two throwing errors at third base.

The Cubs’ ravaged bullpen took another significant hit when left-hander Caleb Thielbar, who had been filling in as the closer while Daniel Palencia works his way back from an oblique strain, went on the 15-day injured list. His roster spot was filled by well-traveled Vince Velasquez, the 33-year-old right-hander whom the Cubs signed this past offseason to a minor-league deal with a spring-training invite.

“It looks like it’s on the mild side,’’ manager Craig Counsell told reporters in addressing Thielbar’s injury. “He had a similar injury in 2022, and this looks like a less serious version. We’re hoping that he’ll be out fairly close to the minimum.’’

Velazquez’s 17 innings leads the Iowa Cubs. He has a 1-0 record with a 3.71 ERA.

Thielbar left Thursday’s extra-inning win over the Phillies in obvious discomfort. He had made 11 appearances for the Cubs, recording two wins and two saves.

To create a spot for Velasquez, the Cubs transferred reliever Porter Hodge, who is recovering from Tommy John elbow surgery, to the 60-day injured list.

Going back to spring training, the Cubs have lost pitchers Shelby Miller, Jordan Wicks, Hodge, Cade Horton, Phil Maton, Hunter Harvey, Ethan Roberts, Palencia and Thielbar.

“Injuries add up at some point, right?’’ Counsell said. “And we’ve lost a lot of bodies, and it’s hard when you’ve lost that many bodies, it gets hard to keep replacing them with the same quality, frankly, so the guys have done a great job.

“They’ve done a heck of a job. And frankly, we’ve got some tired guys right now as well, but they’re doing a heck of a job. And so 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, and it’s one of the reasons why we’ve been able to put together this nice run.”