A familiar face is rejoining the Cubs bullpen.

The team is recalling Keegan Thompson from Triple-A Iowa and placing reliever Julian Merryweather on the 10-day IL with right knee tendinitis. The Cubs also optioned RHP Jack Neely and recalled RHP Daniel Palencia on Tuesday.

Merryweather had 3 straight scoreless appearances before struggling in his last outing on Sunday in Miami. The 31-year-old allowed 4 runs on 5 hits in Sunday’s 7-2 loss to the Marlins.

The righty missed over 3 months of action with a rib stress fracture. It was a crushing blow to the Cubs’ bullpen — he was a key member of their relief corps in 2023, posting a 3.38 ERA in 69 appearances with 98 strikeouts, 17 holds and 2 saves. The injury came at a time when Adbert Alzolay was struggling in the closer role and the Cubs bullpen couldn’t find their footing.

The team had to move traditional setup man Héctor Neris into the closer’s role, a position in which he struggled in. Merryweather returned late last month but has been up and down most of that time. In 11 outings, he has 6 scoreless appearances, but has allowed 10 runs in the other 5 outings for an 8.71 ERA.

Thompson, 29, landed on the IL in late June with a right rib fracture. He was activated off the IL in July and immediately optioned to Iowa. He’s been sharp at the Triple-A level since his injury.

In 10 outings after his injury, Thompson has a 1.38 ERA in 13 innings with 18 strikeouts to 3 walks. Thompson has a 3.50 ERA in 13 games in the major leagues this season.