Cubs select the contract of lefthander Chris Rusin, add lefthander Alex Hinshaw to 25-man roster

MILWAUKEE – The Chicago Cubs today selected the contract of left-handed pitcher Chris Rusin from Triple-A Iowa and added left-handed pitcher Alex Hinshaw to the 25-man roster.  In corresponding roster moves, left-handed pitcher Jeff Beliveau and infielder Adrian Cardenas were optioned to Triple-A Iowa, while right-handed pitcher Matt Garza was transferred to the 60-day disabled list. 

Rusin, who will wear uniform number 18, joins the first major league roster of his professional career and will make the start for the Cubs tonight in Milwaukee.  Hinshaw, who was claimed off waivers on Sunday from the San Diego Padres, will wear uniform number 59.

The 25-year-old Rusin was drafted by the Cubs in the fourth round of the 2009 Draft out of the University of Kentucky and joins fellow draft classmate Brooks Raley (sixth round out of Texas A&M) as products of the 2009 Draft to make their major league debuts as a starting pitcher with the Cubs this month.

Rusin has spent the entire 2012 season with Iowa, his first full season at Triple-A, and has gone 8-8 with a 4.59 ERA (68 ER/133.1 IP) in 24 starts.  He has turned in a 1-1 record and a 1.85 ERA (5 ER/24.1 IP) in his last four starts, including 6.0 scoreless innings his last time out to earn the win at Tucson on August 15.  Overall this season, he has limited opponents to a .272 batting average against, including a .233 mark to left-handed hitters.

The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Rusin is only two years removed from Single-A Daytona, where in 2010 he started the campaign by going 4-3 with a 3.36 ERA (34 ER/91.0 IP) in 20 appearances (17 starts) to earn the promotion to Double-A Tennessee, where he closed the season by going 2-1 with a 1.89 ERA (4 ER/19.0 IP) in four starts.  Rusin split the 2011 campaign between Tennessee and Iowa, combining to go 8-4 with a 3.96 ERA (61 ER/138.2 IP) in 26 appearances (24 starts). 

Rusin has gone 22-20 with a 3.85 ERA (179 ER/418.0 IP) in 84 career minor league appearances, all but six as a starting pitcher.  A native of Detroit, Mich., Rusin graduated from Divine Child High School in Dearborn in 2005.  He pitched four seasons with Kentucky and graduated from the school ranked second all-time in victories (23), second in strikeouts (274) and fourth-best in win-loss percentage (23-11, .677).

Hinshaw, 29, went 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA (14 ER/28.0 IP) in 31 relief appearances for San Diego this season, marking his first big league action since 2009.  He struck out 36 in 28.0 innings of work, good for an average of 11.6 strikeouts per 9.0 innings pitched, while issuing 20 walks prior to being designated for assignment on August 14.

Beliveau has no record and a 3.18 ERA (4 ER/11.1 IP) in 11 appearances for the Cubs this season and is 4-5 with a 4.05 ERA (18 ER/40.0 IP) in 34 outings for Iowa.

Cardenas is batting .234 (11-for-47) with six doubles and two RBI in 32 games for the Cubs this year and is hitting .322 (68-for-211) with 20 doubles, four triples, two home runs and 28 RBI in 56 games for Iowa.

Garza went 5-7 with a 3.91 ERA (45 ER/103.2 IP) in 18 starts for the Cubs this season.