Cubs place C Clevenger on 60-day DL, claim P Loe

Clevenger strained his left abdomen while batting during Saturday's loss to San Francisco.

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The Chicago Cubs placed catcher Steve Clevenger on the 60-day disabled list Sunday because of a strained left abdomen and claimed pitcher Kameron Loe off waivers from the Seattle Mariners.

The Cubs said earlier in the day that Clevenger was expected to miss at least six weeks and would be placed on the 15-day DL when Darwin Barney returns from a deep cut on his left knee.

That plan changed.

Instead, they put him on the 60-day DL to make room for Loe, who has pitched in parts of nine seasons with Texas (2004-08), Milwaukee (2010-12) and Seattle (2013). Loe was 1-1 with a 10.80 ERA in four relief appearances with the Mariners before being designated for assignment on April 11.

Clevenger has appeared in eight games and has one hit in eight at-bats. He injured the left oblique muscle and fell to the ground in pain when he struck out to end Saturday's loss to San Francisco.

"As soon as I did it, I knew what it was," said Clevenger, who missed a month last season because of a right oblique strain. "It was a lot worse than last year, pain-wise. Last year, I did it in the last swing of (batting practice). I went up into the clubhouse and I was a little tight. But (Saturday), I just felt like someone stuck a knife in my side and knocked the breath out of me."

The Cubs also agreed Sunday to a minor league deal with reliever Kevin Gregg. The right-hander had 23 saves with the Cubs in 2009 and was replaced as the closer by Carlos Marmol.

Gregg was 3-2 with a 4.95 ERA for Baltimore last season. He was with the Los Angeles Dodgers in spring training and was assigned to their minor league camp late last month.