Brian Duensing

Brian signed a one-year contract with the Cubs, December 2, 2016 ... has gone 42-37 with two saves, 45 holds and a 4.13 ERA (304 ER/662.2 IP) in 368 major league appearances (307 in relief, 61 as a starter) covering eight major league seasons with the Minnesota Twins (2009-15) and Baltimore Orioles (2016) ... Has limited lefties in his career to a .236 batting average (205-for-867), a .286 OBP and a .328 slugging mark, good for a .614 OPS ... has walked only 50 of 946 left-handed batters faced ... Has pitched exclusively as a reliever the last four seasons, going 14-6 with a 3.86 ERA (76 ER/177.1 IP) in 204 outings in that span ... Overall has gone 23-24 with a 4.57 ERA (176 ER/346.2 IP) in 61 starts, compared to 19-13 with two saves and a 3.65 ERA (128 ER/316.0 IP) in 307 relief appearances ... Made his major league debut in 2009 with Minnesota and spent seven seasons with the team ... signed a minor league contract with Kansas City in April of 2016, but was released in mid-May ... signed with the Orioles May 23, 2016 and spent the rest of the season in the Baltimore organization ... Appeared in only 14 games in 2016 due to injury ... from 2012-15, he ranked third among A.L. left-handed relievers with 245 appearances ... Awarded the Carl R. Pohlad Community Service Award in 2014, which was voted on by the Twin Cities Chapter of the BBWAA ... Originally drafted in the third round of the 2005 Draft by the Minnesota Twins ... Attended the University of Nebraska where he was a Collegiate Baseball honorable mention All-American and Big 12 All-Freshman team selection ... he went 17-2 with a 3.67 ERA (75 ER/184.0 IP) in 46 games for Nebraska ... Pitched for Team USA in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China ... went 1-0 with 1.17 ERA (1 ER/7.2 IP) in four games, helping the team to a Bronze Medal ... Is an active supporter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma society and is also involved in Cheerful Givers, an association that supports helping children in need and providing gifts to disadvantaged kids.

*Courtesy Cubs.com