The Chicago Cubs will still be without closer Daniel Palencia for a few more weeks, but the team did get an encouraging update. Finally, some good news on the injury front for the Cubs, who discovered that instead of a strained oblique, Palencia is actually dealing with a lat issue. The difference is massive as the Cubs now believe Palencia can return in as few as two weeks.
An MRI cleared up the injury, and more importantly, Palencia is responding well in the days following the lat injury, becoming a real issue for the reliever. The Cubs placed Palencia on the 15-day injured list prior to Friday’s game against the New York Mets. An oblique strain can become a truly annoying injury that can linger for a few months, but now the Cubs are optimistic about Palencia’s outlook.
Via Patrick Mooney.
Cubs closer Daniel Palencia underwent an MRI that showed a lat strain, manager Craig Counsell said: “He’s responding very well right now. There’s a chance that we’re throwing here before we go to the West Coast.” An optimistic timeline would have Palencia activated in two weeks.
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In the meantime, the Cubs have turned to veteran lefty Caleb Thielbar in save opportunities. The 39-year-old picked up his second save of the year Tuesday night, coming in with two runners on and one out in the ninth against the Philadelphia Phillies. Thielbar retired the two batters he faced to secure the 7-4 Cubs win. He earned his first save of the year on Saturday, retiring the side in order. Thielbar also got the win in Sunday’s extra-innings game against the New York Mets after pitching a scoreless 10th inning.
The Cubs’ bullpen has been ravaged with injuries, so fingers crossed that Palencia can indeed return much sooner than initially expected.
(Previous Update)
The Chicago Cubs have a little problem, and by little, I mean they’re teetering on a catastrophe. Before Friday’s series opener against the New York Mets at Wrigley Field, right-handed pitcher Daniel Palencia was placed on the 15-day injured list. This isn’t a short-term injury either, as the Cubs will be without their closer for a while while Palencia deals with a left oblique strain.
It’s one of those types of injuries that don’t necessarily have a fixed timetable, and even if it did, oblique strains tend to nag and stick around longer than you’d like. Plus, a pitcher is much more susceptible to a setback like the one Javier Assad had in 2025.
Injuries are part of the game, and pitchers are especially going down at a higher rate than ever before, but this is getting ridiculous for the Cubs. Not only are the Cubs going to be without their closer, but the team has also already lost veteran set-up man Phil Maton and their other premium free agent reliever, Hunter Harvey, who are both on the injured list as well.
Injuries to Matthew Boyd and Cade Horton have also exhausted the organization’s pitching depth through the first four weeks of the season, forcing the team to move Colin Rea from the bullpen to the rotation. Meanwhile, Javier Assad has filled in the rotation, when he probably would have been in the bullpen right now because of the other injuries.
We are now talking about 32 pitchers in the Cubs organization who are on the injured list.
