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44 articles
CHC • Pitcher • #48
5 days ago
The save came in a five-run game after Palencia was brought in to face Nathaniel Lowe with the bases loaded. It’s his second of the year following his three-week absence due to a lat strain.
CHC • Pitcher • #48
7 days ago
Palencia didn’t pitch in his first two days off the IL, and he wasn’t going to have the chance to close tonight with the Cubs at home and tied in the ninth. Still, he threw very well while facing four batters. He topped out at 101.9 mph and averaged 100.2 mph with his heater, which is 1.2 mph better than his season average,
CHC • Pitcher • #48
9 days ago
The Cubs’ bullpen has been decimated by injuries, so getting their closer back should go a long way towards stabilizing things at the back end. Before landing on the injured list with a lat strain, the 26-year-old flame-thrower had fired five scoreless innings with a 1.00 WHIP and a 5/2 K/BB ratio while converting his lone save chance.
CHC • Pitcher • #48
10 days ago
Chicago’s closer averaged 100.4 mph and topped out at 102 during the 19-pitch tune-up outing on the doorstep of the majors. He gave up one hit and also recorded one strikeout. The hard-throwing 26-year-old stopper is working his way back from a low-grade lat strain and could potentially return to the back-end of the Cubs’ bullpen later this weekend.
CHC • Pitcher • #48
13 days ago
This is the first update we’ve had on Palencia since he was put on the injured list back on April 17th. It seems that Palencia won’t need a rehab assignment before returning to the Cubs. We’ll wait to see if Palencia can progress enough to actually return this weekend, but it seems like he’s not far off. That would take away most of the fantasy value for Ben Brown and Phil Maton.
Source: Patrick Mooney
CHC • Pitcher • #48
21 days ago
Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters Palencia is responding well to treatment and there’s a chance he could be activated in two weeks. The 26-year-old closer hit the shelf last Friday with what was believed to be an oblique strain, but additional imaging revealed a shoulder issue. The fact that he’s going to be cleared to resume throwing and the club doesn’t believe it’s a major issue is reassuring. Caleb Thielbar is the favorite to close for the Cubs until his absence.
Source: Patrick Mooney
CHC • Pitcher • #48
25 days ago
It’s unclear when Palencia suffered the injury as he hadn’t pitched since last Sunday. In the topsy turvy world of the Cubs bullpen, which somehow carries five left-handed relievers at the moment, our best guess is that Ben Brown would be in line for saves if the Cubs choose to use a traditional closer going forward. It’s possible this becomes a full-blown committee in Palencia’s absence. It’s great news that it’s not an arm injury — at least for the long-term — but the 15-day placement tells us this is serious for Palencia and something that could stretch well into May.
Source: Jesse Rogers
CHC • Pitcher • #48
30 days ago
He walked one and struck out two while not allowing a hit. Palencia came in to pitch in a tie game, and he kept it knotted up with the Cubs scoring in the bottom half to give Palencia his first win of the season. The 26-year-old has yet to give up a run in 2026, and has a firm grasp on the closing position for the Cubbies.
CHC • Pitcher • #48
about 1 month ago
Palencia was called upon to protect a 1-0 lead in this one and he didn’t disappoint. He needed just 13 pitches (10 strikes) to Kyle Manzardo, Bo Naylor and Daniel Schneemann in order, including a strikeout of Schneemann to end the ballgame. Palencia has yet to allow a run through his first three innings on the season.
CHC • Pitcher • #48
about 2 months ago
Palencia was named Chicago’s closer roughly a month ago by skipper Craig Counsell and he’s looked the part this spring, putting together a dominant run as Venezuela’s stopper in the World Baseball Classic before finishing Cactus League play with four shutout frames. The hard-throwing 26-year-old has the talent to blossom into an upper-echelon fantasy closer this season and looks like a borderline top-10 option already.
CHC • Pitcher • #48
3 months ago
It’s notable because Counsell has normally given a boilerplate answer about having “an outs-getter” or something along those lines. Palencia looks like a good bet for 30 or more saves if he can stay healthy this season, and the fact that there’s no committee that we know of entering Spring Training is great news for his fantasy stock.
Source: Jesse Rogers
CHC • Pitcher • #48
7 months ago
Palencia entered the contest in the fifth inning after starter Matthew Boyd and proceeded to mow down the heart of San Diego’s lineup, sitting 99-101 mph with his fastball and dotting the corners with his slider in just his third game back from the injured list. The hard-throwing 25-year-old righty got the final out of the fifth to prevent any further damage against Boyd before coming back out to spin a flawless sixth. His return provides a significant lift to Chicago’s high-leverage mix.
CHC • Pitcher • #48
8 months ago
Palencia’s return provides a massive lift to Chicago’s high-leverage mix heading into the postseason after missing just over two weeks with a shoulder strain. It’s fair to wonder if veteran Brad Keller will continue to get save opportunities since he’s done a phenomenal job filling in during Palencia’s absence.
CHC • Pitcher • #48
8 months ago
Brad Keller has filled in admirably as Chicago’s primary stopper for the past two weeks with Palencia on the shelf recovering from a shoulder strain. The 25-year-old righty figures to make it back to the Cubs’ late-inning mix before the regular season wraps up next weekend, but he won’t make much of an impact for fantasy managers with only a handful of games left on the slate.
CHC • Pitcher • #48
8 months ago
There’s no word yet on the severity of the strain, but it could sideline Palencia for the rest of the regular season. He suffered the injury during Sunday’s meltdown against the Nationals, when he was tagged for five runs in a blown save. His absence leaves Chicago’s ninth-inning role unsettled, though Andrew Kittredge is one of the favorites to step in given his prior closing experience. The other logical candidate is veteran Brad Keller, who has made the leap from journeyman swingman to dominant high-leverage arm this season.
CHC • Pitcher • #48
8 months ago
The Cubs’ closer will head for further evaluation to determine the severity of the injury, but it sounds like a trip to the injured list could be in the cards here. He came on with the Cubs leading 3-1 in the ninth inning on Sunday and surrendered five runs on four hits and a walk — including a pair of home runs — without recording an out before he was mercifully lifted. Brad Keller has been terrific in a setup role and could be the next man up in the ninth inning, though Porter Hodge may be in the mix as well for save chances if Palencia misses any time.
Source: Bruce Levine
CHC • Pitcher • #48
8 months ago
The 25-year-old hurler came on with a one-run lead to protect and made things interesting by allowing a one-out single to Marcell Ozuna. Pinch-runner Luke Williams then swiped second base and advanced to third on a two-out infield single off the bat of Ha-Seong Kim. Not to worry though, as Palencia rallied to get Eli White on a fly ball to center to end the ballgame. He now holds a 2.16 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and a 57/15 K/BB ratio across 50 innings on the season while converting 22 of his first 24 save chances.
CHC • Pitcher • #48
8 months ago
Palencia was called upon to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning with the score knotted at five runs apiece. He gave up a leadoff single to Ryan Ritter on the first pitch that he threw and three pitches later allowed a walk-off RBI triple to Mickey Moniak. He’s still secure in his ninth inning role for the Cubs and sports a terrific 2.20 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and a 56/15 K/BB ratio over 49 innings on the season, but this was clearly not his best work.
CHC • Pitcher • #48
8 months ago
It’s yet another impressive outing from Palencia, who has been one of the best out-of-nowhere stories of the 2025 campaign. He now has 21 saves, and he lowered his ERA to an outstanding 2.02 while acquiring the latest one. He’ll occasionally allow some hard contact, but he’s one of the toughest pitchers to square up and there’s plenty of missed bats as well. Long story short, Palencia is deserving of these results, and should remain a strong option for the foreseeable future.
CHC • Pitcher • #48
9 months ago
Palencia’s save was his 20th of the season. He entered the ninth inning with a one-run lead and allowed two baserunners before striking out Christian Moore and Bryce Teodosio to end the game. Palencia lowered his ERA to 1.89 in the process. He’s been one of the better mid-season acquisitions of the fantasy season.
CHC • Pitcher • #48
9 months ago
Palencia was shaky Wednesday in his last save chance, but the 25-year-old was excellent in this one. He threw 7-of-10 pitches for strikes, and lowered his ERA to 1.93 with 19 saves. Palencia has been quite the find for fantasy managers, and a lifesaver for the Cubs’ bullpen.
CHC • Pitcher • #48
9 months ago
Palencia gave up two singles and two walks before closing out what had been a two-run game, Stellar for most of the year, he’s been making things more interesting lately, surrendering single runs in four of his last six appearances. Still, it’s resulted in just one blown save so far, and he got the win in that game. Since he’s worked the last two days, Palencia will be unavailable Thursday, perhaps leading to a save chance for Andrew Kittredge.
CHC • Pitcher • #48
9 months ago
Palencia was tasked with protecting a two-run lead in the front-end of Tuesday’s twin bill and required just 17 pitches (11 strikes) to spin a flawless frame. The 25-year-old righty has converted 17 of 19 save opportunities this season to accompany a microscopic 1.81 ERA and 47/12 K/BB ratio across 44 2/3 innings (43 appearances).
CHC • Pitcher • #48
9 months ago
Palencia completely and utterly blew the Blue Jays away here. He threw six of his nine total pitches harder than 101 mph and has asserted himself as one of the most dominant closers in the league with 1.69 ERA and 0.91 WHIP across 42 2/3 innings pitched.
CHC • Pitcher • #48
9 months ago
Palencia entered the ninth inning with a one-run lead. The 25-year-old right-hander allowed an RBI single with two outs and was charged with his second blown save of the season. Palencia then picked up his first win of the season when the Cubs won in the bottom of the inning. His ERA is up to 1.55 on the year now.
CHC • Pitcher • #48
9 months ago
The Cubs were only able to scratch out one run in the ballgame against Trevor Rogers, but Palencia made sure that lead stood up when it got to him in the ninth. He did allow a two-out double to Adley Rutschman to put the tying run in scoring position before getting Tyler O’Neill to fly out to left to end the ballgame. Palencia has been a hero in the Cubs’ bullpen — and for fantasy managers — this season, posting a 1.36 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and a 42/11 K/BB ratio over 39 2/3 innings while converting 15 of his first 16 save chances.
CHC • Pitcher • #48
10 months ago
Luis Robert Jr. was the only batter to reach against him in a one-run game, doing so on a HBP. If the trade deadline passes without the Cubs acquiring a closer, Palencia ought to be viewed as a top-10 RP the rest of the way. Still, that’s up in the air right now. They’re certainly going to add some late-game reliever, and while it’s not the ninth inning they need to address, they’d probably bump Palencia back to the eighth if they add a veteran closer.
CHC • Pitcher • #48
10 months ago
The 25-year-old right-hander allowed a leadoff single to Marcelo Mayer to begin the ninth inning, but he was quickly erased on a double play ball. He then got Abraham Toro on a fly ball to right to end it. Palencia has been outstanding for the Cubs this season, compiling a 1.53 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and a 39/11 K/BB ratio across 35 1/3 innings while converting 13 of his first 14 save opportunities.
CHC • Pitcher • #48
10 months ago
The 25-year-old struck out one and didn’t allow a baserunner while securing his 12th save of the season. He’s been a really great story and a tremendous waiver add in fantasy leagues, but we would be shocked if the Cubs didn’t add a veteran closer at the trade deadline in hopes of cementing their status as World Series contenders.
CHC • Pitcher • #48
10 months ago
Palencia was called on after Brad Keller gave up a two-run homer and then hit a batter in what had been a 5-0 game. He struck out Jazz Chisholm Jr. and got Trent Grisham to ground out to end the game.