Chicago Cubs offer injury update, timeline for Daniel Palencia

The Chicago Cubs now have a clearer idea of what’s going on with injured closer Daniel Palencia as well as a target time for his return.

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Per Jesse Rogers of ESPN:

“Cubs closer Daniel Palencia had an MRI. Showed a mild flexor strain. Shut down for about a week, per Counsell.”

Cubs manager Craig Counsell is saying that the full shutdown for “about a week” mentioned is actually going to be nine days.

“He’s shut down from throwing through the road trip then we’ll start ramping back up,” Counsell told reporters.

Palencia’s earliest possible return

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This means that the earliest the right-hander will begin to throw is June 29 and that his full return won’t be until some time in July.

Palencia was placed on the 15-day IL on Tuesday with right elbow inflammation after his appearance against the Colorado Rockies the day before.

This is the 26-year-old’s second stint on the IL this season. In mid April, he went on the shelf with a mild left lat strain that cost him about about three weeks of big league time.

On the season, Palencia has posted a 2.70 ERA over 16.2 innings pitched, with 19 strikeouts. His limited availability and a Cubs’ extended slump have given him few save opportunities. So far, he’s only registered 3 saves.

WBC impact?

A debate has been brewing over whether his heavy workload in the World Baseball Classic (WBC), with several high-pressure appearances for tournament-winning Team Venezuela among the outings, may be the root cause of his health issues this season.

Counsell certainly voiced such a concern as early as a week before the start of the regular season.

“The usage is more than anybody would like at this time of year,” Counsell told media. “But the moment was also a moment that you want someone to experience. So if it was going to be usage that we weren’t comfortable with, we wanted to make sure it was in the moment that every player should get to experience.”

There have also been media reports stating that the Cubs front office wasn’t happy with how hard Palencia was being pushed in the WBC and that some phone calls had been made to voice that displeasure.

Chicago’s besieged pitching staff

Whatever the case, things happened as they happened and Palencia now, once again, becomes another Cubs arm out of commission.

Chicago’s pitching staff has been absolutely besieged by injury this season, causing legitimate concern over the team’s ability to contend for postseason play. Actually, the more concrete worry may be whether the team will be able to even maintain a full roster of major league-level arms.

Aside from Cade Horton being lost for the season to elbow injury and Justin Steele suffering a setback in his own recovery, Palencia joins several Cubs currently on the IL—Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Hunter Harvey, and Riley Martin. Edward Cabrera, meanwhile, is day-to-day with a hand cramp issue. Over the course of the season, Cabrera has already spent time on the IL, as well as relievers Phil Maton, Caleb Thielbar, and Ethan Roberts, among others.

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