Ramirez to bereavement list; Patton fills spot

CHICAGO — Cubs reliever Neil Ramirez was placed on the bereavement list on Thursday to attend his grandmother’s funeral, and right-handed reliever Spencer Patton was called up from Triple-A Iowa. Ramirez will miss a minimum of three games, and a maximum of seven.

Patton, 28, appeared in 36 games in the big leagues for the Rangers over 2014-15, and has a career 6.75 ERA, giving up 25 earned runs in 33 1/3 innings. The Cubs acquired him on Nov. 20, 2015, in exchange for Minor League pitcher Frandy De La Rosa.

In 10 games at Iowa this season, Patton had given up five hits, walked four and struck out 17 over 10 scoreless innings.

“I just tried to carry over from spring into the Triple-A season,” Patton said. “It’s not the best circumstances to come up, but I’m here to help the team for the next couple days until Neil comes back.”

Patton said Cubs pitching coach Chris Bosio got him on track in Spring Training by making some mechanical adjustments.

“There have been some outings when I’ve gotten away from that, and then I get right back into it and things start to work out,” Patton said. “I’ve been trying to keep those things in mind.”

• Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred was in Chicago at U.S. Cellular Field for the White Sox game against the Red Sox and addressed recent …

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