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Cubs lefthander Brian Duensing has been on MLB’s bereavement list since Monday:
Thank you for the thoughts. I lost my grandpa on Saturday. He is in a better place but we miss him dearly already.
— Brian Duensing (@BrianDuensing52) June 18, 2018
My condolences to Brian and his family. After being with them for a few days, the Cubs lefty is back on the active roster:
#Cubs activate Duensing from bereavement list and option Hancock to Iowa
— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) June 22, 2018
Justin Hancock has had two tours of duty with the Cubs this year and has generally been quite effective, posting a 1.50 ERA and 1.167 WHIP in nine appearances covering 12 innings. He recorded the first two outs in the 10th inning of Game 2 of Tuesday’s doubleheader and threw another scoreless frame against the Reds Thursday night.
With his fastball at 97 or 98, he’ll certainly be back. This means Rob Zastryzny, who was recalled when Duensing went on the bereavement list, will stay, for now at least. That gives the Cubs three lefthanders in the bullpen. And with Zastryzny helping eat up some of the innings in Thursday night’s loss, the pen should be well rested for the rest of the series.
Duensing had a rough beginning to his June after a very good April and May. Hopefully he can get back to his previous level of performance.