Cubs shift Daniel Palencia to 60-day IL

Counsell added that Palencia has wrapped up a minor league rehab assignment, but won’t be activated prior to Tuesday’s game against the White Sox. Jacob Webb has been an unexpected revelation for Chicago and will likely remain in the mix for save chances, even when Palencia is back from the injured list. The hard-throwing 26-year-old has been out since mid-June with elbow inflammation.

Palencia topped out at 100.0 mph in his fifth rehab appearance as he makes his way back from a flexor strain. He should come off the IL this week, though since Jacob Webb is performing very well, he probably won’t go back to closing right away.

Palencia walked three consecutive hitters before hitting a batter as well to bring in a run. He was lifted from the contest and all three inherited runners wound up crossing the plate. The 26-year-old stopper’s command issues in recent rehab outings are a cause for concern, but the Cubs probably don’t have much of a choice and will need to bring him back in the near future.

Palencia threw just 50 percent of his pitches for strikes but sat 98.7 mph on his four-seam fastball. The velocity is there, but the command is a little rusty. That’s not totally unexpected with a pitcher coming off a lengthy absence. He’ll need to make a few more appearances in Triple-A.

The Cubs didn’t add a veteran closer before the deadline, so it looks like Palancia will have a chance to get his job back upon returning. He’ll definitely need at least a couple of rehab appearances first.

Cubs’ manager Craig Counsell told reporters on Sunday that Palencia will next throw an up-and-down bullpen session on Tuesday before progressing to facing live hitters. Barring any setbacks, he’s on track to start a minor league rehab assignment during the week of August 3.

Chicago’s closer is progressing in his recovery from a minor flexor strain in his right elbow, but the club is going to take a cautious approach and not push him too quickly. Expect the Cubs to continue to patch together the ninth inning in his absence with Jacob Webb the most likely candidate to accrue saves.

That’s about the best possible news that the Cubs and fantasy managers could have received here. The expectation is that he’ll be shut down from throwing for about a week before starting to ramp back up. The Cubs will likely patch together the ninth inning in the meantime.

Not good. Palencia will presumably undergo an MRI to determine whether he’s dealing with any structural damage. There should be a clear return timetable at some point later this week. The hard-throwing 26-year-old stopper has converted all three of his save chances and holds a 2.70 ERA and 19/6 K/BB ratio across 16 2/3 innings this season. He missed a couple weeks earlier this season with a lat strain. It’ll likely be some combination of Jacob Webb, Caleb Thielbar and Phil Maton handling the closing duties in his absence. It’s probably a complete stay-away for fantasy managers outside of extremely deep formats.

A walk and two singles got Palencia charged with a loss after he entered a 2-2 game tonight. It was the fourth straight game in which Palencia was brought into a tie. He last had a save situation on May 14, and the only time he’s pitched with a lead since then was on May 30, when he finished off a 6-1 game.