Cubs Place Brad Wieck on 10-Day IL, Add Ryan Tepera From South Bend Squad

CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs today placed left-handed pitcher Brad Wieck on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain and recalled right-handed pitcher Ryan Tepera from the club’s South Bend Alternate Site.

Tepera will be available for the Cubs this afternoon when they conclude their three-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field.

Tepera, 32, signed a one-year contract with the Cubs on December 20, 2019.  He is 12-11 with 39 holds, 10 saves and a 3.64 ERA (87 ER/215.1 IP) in 216 career big league appearances, all but one in relief, covering all or part of five seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays (2015-19).  He has struck out 203 batters in 215.1 innings pitched with a 1.16 WHIP while limiting foes to a .302 on-base percentage.  Overall, Tepera has held opponents to a .220 batting average, which features identical .220 marks by both right-handed and left-handed batters, and has held all foes to a .690 OPS, including a .645 mark by right-handed hitters.

The 6-foot-2 right-hander went 7-1 with 18 holds, two saves and a 3.59 ERA (31 ER/77.2 IP) in a career-high 73 relief outings with the Blue Jays in 2017, his first full major league campaign.  Tepera followed up posting career-bests with 19 holds and seven saves a season later, going 5-5 with a 3.62 ERA (26 ER/64.2 IP) in 68 relief outings.  In 2019, Tepera was limited to 23 relief appearances with the Blue Jays due to a right elbow impingement that sidelined him from mid-May through the end of August.  Tepera returned to post a 3.38 ERA (4 ER/10.2 IP) in 11 outings in September.

Wieck, 28, allowed two runs on one hit and a walk, striking out two, yesterday in his lone appearance of the season.

Chicago’s 60-man Player Pool roster remains at 57 players, with 30 active players (plus two 10-day injured list players) in Chicago and 25 players in South Bend.