Of course. At this point, nothing should surprise Chicago Cubs fans when it comes to injuries as the 2026 season continues to be one of the worst in recent memory. For the second time this year, Cubs closer Daniel Palencia has been placed on the 15-day injured list.
The 26-year-old pitcher pitched a scoreless ninth inning in Monday night’s 5-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies. Palencia was credited with the win after striking out three batters in the ninth. During his relief appearance, manager Craig Counsell did make a trip to the mound to check on Palencia. Whatever the reliever said was convincing enough to remain in the game, and all seemed fine as he stranded a runner by striking out the next three batters.
Unfortunately, something was wrong, and prior to Tuesday’s game at Wrigley Field, Palencia was sidelined due to right elbow inflammation. Back in April, Palencia was placed on the injured list because of an oblique strain, which kept him off the active roster for about three weeks. In 2025, Palencia was on the injured list for two weeks in September as he dealt with a shoulder strain, but the hard-throwing righty did return and pitched well down the stretch and in the postseason.
It’s been an odd 2026 season for Palencia, who came in riding high after winning the World Baseball Classic with Venezuela. After claiming the closer role last year, Palencia has only had three save opportunities through June 15. He’s only pitched in 19 total games and has remained relatively good, posting a 2.70 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 16.2 innings.
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The Cubs have called up right-hander Gavin Hollowell from Triple-A to replace Palencia on the active roster. Hollowell wasted a golden opportunity in early May to grab a bullpen spot, allowing a couple of runs in a blowout game that forced the Cubs to go to Palencia with two outs in the ninth inning.
Since then, Hollowell has pitched in nine games with the Iowa Cubs, and although his 4.82 ERA in that stretch looks bad, all five runs he’s allowed in 9.1 innings came in one game, when he walked three, gave up three hits, and could not record an out.
So, who will be the closer now without Palencia in the bullpen? Well, believe it or not, the best option is clearly Jacob Webb. A guy who was public enemy number one in April has been the team’s best reliever this season. Webb has a 2.93 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 30.2 innings. Since May 1, Webb has allowed four earned runs in 20 innings, a 1.80 ERA to go along with a 30.4 K% and 5.1 BB%.
