Veteran pitcher Casey Coleman was contemplating retirement. Then the Cubs called.

Casey Coleman was reaching a crossroads in his baseball career.

With the Independent All-Star break coming up, Coleman was planning to go home to decide if he wanted to keep playing baseball or move on to the next part of his life.

But Coleman decided to put those plans on hold when the Chicago Cubs came calling with an offer to return to affiliated baseball. 

“They couldn’t tell me what the opportunity was,” Coleman said. “They just knew they needed a body — an arm and I just told them, ‘Hey, I’ll do whatever it takes.’”

Coleman jumped at the opportunity and is now back with the Cubs organization, back in Triple-A and back in Des Moines with the Iowa Cubs for the first time since 2014.

“It’s awesome to see how the city’s grown, first of all,” Coleman said. “I came back and there’s apartment places all over downtown. This city’s been great to me.”

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Things have come full circle for Coleman, the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year back in 2009. Coleman, who spent parts of seven seasons in the organization, appeared in 58 games with Chicago over the course of three seasons.

After he was released in 2014, the Florida native landed with Kansas City and appeared in 10 games with the Royals that season. He’s since been bouncing around baseball with stops in the minors with Seattle, Tampa Bay and Houston.

Coleman started this season playing Independent League Ball with the Sugar Land Skeeters. He went 3-0 with a 0.96 ERA in seven games including six starts — trying to prove to teams that he still had something left in the tank, even at 31-years-old.

“Being in indy ball really put things into perspective,” Coleman said. “You’re not going up or down anywhere — you’re just trying to get out of there. So, the only thing I would think about in my mind was doing well and staying positive.”

But it wasn’t always easy for Coleman, who wondered if he could keep playing Independent League ball. Coleman said other opportunities were opening up to coach and give lessons. He debated if playing was the right thing to do to his family.

 “You don’t want to keep putting them in that position,” he said. “You can’t make money there.”

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He decided that the All-Star break was when he’d think things through about his future.

“It was coming quick,” he said. "I kept myself going because I was throwing the ball well down there and had a lot of good outings. So kept telling myself, ‘Hey, it’s going to happen.’ So, I kept holding on a little bit longer. But it was getting pretty close.”

Coleman eventually started hearing from some teams who were impressed with how he was pitching. One of them was the Cubs and Jason McLeod, Chicago’s senior vice president of player development and amateur scouting. McLeod, who called at the start of July, offered Coleman a chance to return to affiliated ball in Triple-A.

Coleman, who was added to Iowa’s roster July 5, got his first start that night at Nashville, tossing six strong innings. He allowed just one earned run on three hits and struck out nine.

“As soon as he called, I got on a plane that night and flew up here (to Iowa) and then we went to Nashville and I got a start,” Coleman said. “It all happened quick, but it’s all worth it.”

A lot has changed since Coleman's last stint in Iowa. Now a father, Coleman is no longer a young up-and-coming pitcher. This time around, he's a veteran who trying to make it back to the big leagues. 

Coleman said he isn't just a different person. He's a different pitcher, too. He believes he's learned a lot from moving from team to team. He’s not only picked up information, but confidence from pitching down the stretch for the Royals during their run to the World Series in 2014.

Coleman has also changed his approach, no longer leaning on his sinker but instead focusing on his four-seam fastball. And his days of worrying about giving up a run whenever someone gets on base are also gone. Coleman said he’s trained himself to focus on limiting damage and keeping his team in games.

One of the biggest lessons Coleman learned was when he went back and watched some old footage of his time in Chicago. It helped him get a better idea now of how to attack hitters and adjust to what they’re doing.

“Honestly, sometimes I even wonder how I got there,” Coleman said. “I didn’t make adjustments I needed to make. I had some success in my first year up. But I didn’t make adjustments against the best hitters in the world.”

He now is. That’s why Coleman believes he may be able to offer the Cubs more than just a Triple-A pitcher. Coleman believes, if given the chance, he could once again help in the big leagues.

“I really do think I’m better equipped to compete at every level,” Coleman said. “Triple-A is where my mind’s at right now. But if that (MLB) opportunity ever came again, I would be more prepared.”