Craig Counsell Settles Important Cubs Dilemma
You guys know the deal by now, relievers are the most unpredictable aspect to a roster on an annual basis and for the Chicago Cubs it’s actually been even more volatile heading into the 2026 season. As per usual the front office targeted several arms and acquired them on minor league deals, but Jed Hoyer was also uncharacteristically active signing established MLB relief pitchers, five to be exact.
However, the Cubs were left with somewhat of a dilemma as Brad Keller signed with the Philadelphia Phillies in free agency, leaving Craig Counsell without his postseason closer. Although Keller only recorded three saves in the regular season in 2025, the right-hander became Counsell’s go-to man in the playoffs to close out games. Well, it kind of seemed obvious who would step back into the close role to begin this year and on day one of spring training Counsell confirmed that it will be Daniel Palencia.
Palencia is actually the perfect example of how unpredictable a bullpen can be from one year to another. He made his MLB debut during the 2023 season and then only made 10 appearances with the Cubs in 2024, when the hard-throwing righty struggled with injuries and control. In 2025, Palencia led the Cubs with 22 saves and he wasn’t even on the Opening Day roster as he was called up until April 15.
Overall in 54 regular-season appearances Palencia recorded a 2.91 ERA in 52.2 innings of work. He had a 28.4 K% and more importantly the walks came way down as Palencia posted a 7.4 BB% after it was nearly at 14% through the first 43 innings of his MLB career.
There were some warts near the end of the season and you’d hope that it was simply because Palencia hadn’t experienced the grind of a long MLB year. He was truly dominant through Aug. 1, with a 1.36 ERA and only two home runs given up in 39.2 innings. But then it got kind of ugly and Palencia eventually landed on the 15-day injured list in September because of a shoulder strain.
From Aug. 3 through Sept. 7, Palencia allowed 11 earned runs in 14 games, including three home runs in only 11.1 innings. During that stretch Palencia gave up 65% of the total earned runs from his entire season. The great news is that he pretty much pitched like his dominant self after returning from the injured. Palencia had two scoreless appearances to end the regular season and once the postseason came around Counsell trusted the young pitcher to be the stopper during the middle of games.
In his playoff debut Palencia made six appearances out of the bullpen and four times the reliever recorded more than three outs. His lone blemish in the postseason was a home run given up against the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 2 of the NLDS. Other than that Palencia served as the bridge from starter to the late-inning relievers.
By the way, do you guys remember the last time the Cubs had the same pitcher lead the team in saves in back-to-back seasons? It hasn’t happened since 2016!
Let’s hope Palencia can finally bring back some stability in the close role for the Cubs.