Chicago Cubs: Daniel Palencia kills it in rehab outing, topping out at 102 mph
The Chicago Cubs are riding a wave of almost unprecedented pitching misfortune as they barely pass the one-month mark of this 2026 season. It’s just been injury after injury with the pitching staff, causing the team to quickly go through their pitching reserves at the Triple-A level.
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But there’s at least some good news to be found when it comes to Chicago’s troubled pitching corps. Closer Daniel Palencia, who was placed on the IL April 17 with a left oblique strain that was later revised to a much more manageable left lat strain, made a rehab outing for the Iowa Cubs and looked pretty good.
Palencia is sharp and strong in rehab outing
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Pitching against the St. Paul Saints, the right-hander came into the game in the fifth and pitched a scoreless two-thirds of an inning. In the outing, he struck out one, allowed one hit, and threw 14 of 19 pitches for strikes. His velocity ranged from 100-102 mph in the appearance.
Prior to the rehab outing, Cubs manager Craig Counsell was non-committal when talking about whether Palencia would be immediately returned to his closer role.
“Optimistic we can get him back here after that outing, if all things go well,” Counsell told reporters before the Cubs’ 6-5 Friday victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Wrigley Field.
“He’ll go back to getting outs. We’ve got to get Danny pitching. We want to get him pitching a lot. He’s got five innings right now.”
The hard-throwing 26-year-old, coming off a breakthrough 2025 where he started the year in Triple-A and seized the Cubs’ closer role before mid-May, has a total a total of five appearances so far this year, with the last being on April 12. He’s struck out five and has yet to allow a run in this limited run.
Injuries have hobbled the Cubs
The Cubs desperately need some of their top arms to return to active duty if the goal is to make a run at a championship this year. So far, they’ve held together remarkably well considering the tsunami of injuries, but it’s only a matter of time before reality catches up to them.
Chicago lost emerging ace Cade Horton for the year with an elbow injury that required surgery, in just his second start of the season. Opening Day starter Matthew Boyd lost three starts due to a left biceps strain. Then came Phil Maton (right knee tendonitis), Hunter Harvey (right triceps inflammation), Ethan Roberts (finger laceration), Palencia (lat strain), Caleb Thielbar (hamstring), and Riley Martin (elbow inflammation). Down in Iowa, reliever Porter Hodge was lost for the season after UCL surgery. Even top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins has been placed on the IL with right elbow inflammation.
As emergency fill-ins, the Cubs have had to call up offseason minor league pick ups Corbin Martin, Ryan Rolison, Charlie Barnes, Vince Velasquez, and Yacksel Rios.
A healthy and effective Palencia will bring stability to the back end of the bullpen and return one more piece to a pitching puzzle that has been a mass of chaos. His rehab is expected to be just a one-and-done proposition.
The post Chicago Cubs: Daniel Palencia kills it in rehab outing, topping out at 102 mph appeared first on ChiCitySports.
Source: https://www.chicitysports.com/chicago-cubs-daniel-palencia-rehab-outing-iowa/
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