Brian Duensing, Relief Pitcher

Date of Birth: 2/22/1983
Birthplace: Marysville, Kansas
College: University of Nebraska at Lincoln

Brian Duensing, relief pitcher, had Tommy John surgery in 2004, while at the University of Nebraska. He was drafted by the Minnesota Twins the following year. He pitched in the Twins' minor league system from 2005 through 2008.

Duensing pitched in 9 games as a starter and 15 games in relief with the Twins in 2009. He finished the season with 5 wins and 2 losses, 53 strikeouts to 31 walks, and a 3.64 ERA in 84.0 innings. The following season, he again pitched as both a starter and a reliever, finishing with a 2.62 ERA in 130.2 innings in 53 games.

In 2012, his last season as a starting pitcher, Duensing had a 5.12 ERA in 109.0 innings in 11 games as a starter and 44 games in relief. He pitched in a career high 73 games in 2013, finishing with a 3.98 ERA in 61.0 innings of relief.

The Twins signed Duensing to a new, one-year, $2.7 million contract in January, 2015. He finished the 2015 season with a 4.25 ERA in 48.2 innings in 55 games.

Duensing became a free agent on November 2, 2015. He signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals on February 18, 2016. He was released a month later. On May 25, 2016, he signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles. He spent time on the DL with elbow inflammation in 2016 and he pitched just 13.1 innings in 14 games with the Orioles.

Duensing again became a free agent on November 3, 2016. A month later, on December 2nd, he signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Chicago Cubs. He finished the 2017 season with 1 win and 1 loss, 61 strikeouts to 18 walks, and a 2.74 ERA in 62.1 innings in 68 games. In the postseason, he pitched 5.1 innings in 5 games and he gave up 1 hit and 1 run.

Duensing elected free agency on November 2, 2017. He re-signed with the Cubs on January 22, 2018. He spent time on the DL in 2018. In 48 games, he had 3 wins and no losses, 1 save, 24 strikeouts to 29 walks, and a 7.65 ERA in 37.2 innings.

The Cubs released Duensing on June 19, 2019. He played only in the minors in 2019. He hasn't played professional baseball since 2019.

Career pitching statistics for Duensing through 2019 include:

• 484 games played
• 762.2 innings pitched
• 46-38 win-loss record
• 523 strikeouts to 258 walks
• 4.19 ERA

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Brian Duensing
ESPN - Brian Duensing