Daniel Palencia joins the ever-growing list of Cubs pitchers on the injured list

Seriously, will it ever end?

Porter Hodge and Cade Horton are done for the year, Justin Steele is more than a month from his return and the Chicago Cubs are also without the likes of Hunter Harvey, Phil Maton, Ethan Roberts Jordan Wicks - and now, closer Daniel Palencia will join them on the injured list.

The Cubs placed the right-hander on the 15-day IL with a left oblique strain, a huge blow to an already seriously depleted relief corps. Thankfully, Matthew Boyd is expected to return to the rotation next week, which could shift someone like Javier Assad back to the pen to bolster that group, but at this point, it's hard to even say Craig Counsell is playing with half a deck.

Sky-high expectations come to screeching halt for Daniel Palencia

Like the Cubs, Palencia entered 2026 surrounded by lofty expectations - and why wouldn't he? The 26-year-old flamethrower is coming off a breakout campaign and an electric run as the Venezuelan closer during the World Baseball Classic. During the WBC, he punched out nine in five scoreless appearances, recording the final out in the championship game against the United States.

The worst part about this IL stint is oblique injuries carry a wide range of recovery times and it's hard to pin it down right away.

These can linger and IL stints can run anywhere from two to eight-plus weeks, depending on the severity of the strain. Chicago can ill afford to be without Palencia for the next two months, especially after a slow start - so hopefully we get more clarity on just how bad this injury is in the next day or so.

So who closes for the Cubs in the meantime? If you had me choose, this is Ben Brown's job. He's looked much sharper this year, with a reworked arsenal. Let him go and lock down the ninth for the time being and figure out long-term once Palencia returns.

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