Palencia worked around a hit to toss a scoreless ninth inning and earn the save in Tuesday's 5-3 win over the Brewers. He struck out one.
After Ryan Pressly picked up a save Thursday, Palencia has now recorded the last two saves for the Cubs, giving him seven for the year in eight chances. The latter has earned the right to close out games, as he's now sporting a 1.67 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 29 strikeouts across 27 innings this season. Pressly has re-entered the mix for saves due to his strong play lately, but it appears that Palencia is still the top Chicago reliever to target for fantasy purposes.
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Cubs' Daniel Palencia: Records save Saturday
Rotowire
Palencia worked around a hit to toss a scoreless ninth inning and earn the save in Saturday's 2-1 win over the Pirates. He struck out two.
A day after seeing Ryan Pressly earn a save while he worked the eighth inning for a hold, Palencia was back as the closer Saturday. Pressly, meanwhile, worked the seventh after starter Matthew Boyd logged six solid innings. Palencia now has six saves this season in seven chances, and he lowered his ERA to a sparkling 1.73. It appears that the closer situation may remain fluid in Chicago, with both Palencia and Pressly getting opportunities for the time being. That gives both players fantasy value, though it does limit their ceilings.
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Cubs' Daniel Palencia: Bypassed in save opportunity
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Palencia worked a scoreless eighth inning to earn a hold in Thursday's 3-2 win over the Pirates, with Ryan Pressly working the ninth to secure the save.
For the first time since April 13, Pressly managed to earn a save as Palencia picked up his sixth hold of the season. Palencia had taken on closing duties in Chicago due to Pressly's poor start to the season, though the latter has now rattled off 14 straight appearances without allowing an earned run and has seemingly regained manager Craig Counsell's trust. Palencia could still see some ninth inning work moving forward, though his fantasy stock has taken a hit with Pressly back on the map.
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Cubs' Daniel Palencia: Takes second loss
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Palencia (0-2) allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits and a walk across an inning of work to take the loss Monday against the Phillies.
Palencia was tasked with working the bottom of the 10th inning in a 2-2 game, and outside of an intentional walk to Kyle Schwarber, he was able to get through the frame fairly quickly. The 11th was a different story, however, as the righty allowed four straight hits to take his second loss of the year. Palencia isn't often asked to work more than one inning, as he's retired four or more batters just four times in 21 appearances. Despite the hiccup, the 25-year-old has been solid with a 1.96 ERA, and he should remain Chicago's top closing option for the time being, though Porter Hodge (oblique/hip) could join the mix at some point when he's healthy. Opening Day closer Ryan Pressly is also pitching better after a rough start, so Palencia will need to pitch well to keep his grip on the role.
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Cubs' Daniel Palencia: Earns another save Saturday
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Palencia tossed a scoreless ninth inning with a strikeout to secure the save in Saturday's 2-0 win over the Reds.
Palencia now has five saves on the season, and all of them have come in the past 10 days. The righty is pitching well with a sparkling 1.74 ERA and 0.77 WHIP, and he's emerged as Chicago's top closer for the time being due to Ryan Pressly struggling earlier in the year and Porter Hodge (oblique) being on the injured list. Hodge's return could complicate things at the back end of Chicago's bullpen, though it seems like Palencia has done enough to hold onto the job, at least if he continues to perform at a high level.
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Cubs' Daniel Palencia: Secures yet another save
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Palencia earned a save against the Rockies on Wednesday, striking out two batters in a perfect inning of work.
Palencia entered for the ninth inning with Chicago hanging onto a one-run lead, and he set the side down in order on 14 pitches (10 strikes) to secure a Cubs win. The right-hander had no saves midway through May, but since Porter Hodge (oblique) went on the IL on May 20, Palencia has racked up four saves in four chances while registering a 5:0 K:BB over four scoreless innings. Considering his success so far in the closer role, Palencia can be expected to get most of Chicago's save opportunities for at least as long as Hodge is on the shelf, which could be a while longer since manager Craig Counsell said Monday that Hodge isn't making much progress in his recovery.
Palencia picked up the save in Monday's 3-1 victory over the Rockies, pitching a clean inning with two strikeouts.
The 25-year-old righty placed eight of his 13 total pitches in the strike zone to convert his third straight save chance. Palencia appears to have fully overtaken the closer's job in Chicago while Porter Hodge (oblique) is on the injured list. Palencia has been impressive through 18.2 frames this season, pitching to a 1.93 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 19:7 K:BB.
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Cubs' Daniel Palencia: Earns second save
Rotowire
Palencia earned the save in Sunday's 11-8 win over the Reds, allowing one hit and striking out one batter in a scoreless ninth inning.
Palencia entered with a three-run lead and worked around a leadoff single, throwing 18 of his 21 pitches for strikes. The 25-year-old appears to have earned manager Craig Counsell's trust, getting the Cubs' last three save opportunities and converting two of them. On the season, he owns a 2.04 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 17:7 K:BB across 17.2 innings.
Palencia tossed a scoreless ninth inning to record the save in Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Marlins.
After blowing a save and taking the loss Monday, Palencia pitched much better Wednesday, earning his first save of the season and just his second ever at the MLB level. The righty is seeing some time in the closer role with Porter Hodge (oblique) currently on the injured list and Ryan Pressly struggling. Palencia could strengthen his grip on the job if he pitches well while Hodge is on the shelf, and he's mostly done that in 2025, as he's now sitting with a 2.16 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 16 strikeouts across 16.2 innings.
Palencia (0-1) blew the save and took the loss in Monday's game at Miami. He allowed two runs on two hits and a walk in two-thirds of an inning with one strikeout.
Palencia was called upon for his first save opportunity of the season with a 7-6 lead in the ninth as Porter Hodge (oblique) was unavailable. After collecting the first two outs, Palencia fell apart, consecutively conceding a double, a walk and a walk-off triple. The Chicago right-hander had been a steady reliever prior to this performance, pitching to a 1.20 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 15:6 K:BB across 15 innings. If Hodge is bound for a lengthy absence, Palencia will likely remain in the mix for saves along with Drew Pomeranz and Ryan Pressly.
The Cubs recalled Palencia from Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday, Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network reports.
The right-hander missed out on the Opening Day roster but will join the Cubs a couple weeks into the season. Palencia had a 6.14 ERA in 10 outings for Chicago last year and allowed two earned runs with a 7:2 K:BB over four innings to begin the year with Iowa.
The Cubs optioned Palencia to Triple-A Iowa on Monday, Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network reports.
Palencia was in the mix for a back-end bullpen spot to begin the season, but he'll instead head back to Iowa, where he spent most of the 2024 campaign. The righty ultimately appeared in 10 games for the Cubs last season and will serve as organizational depth once again in 2025.
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Cubs' Daniel Palencia: Heads back to Triple-A
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The Cubs optioned Palencia to Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Just one day after being called up from Triple-A, Palencia will return to Iowa with the Cubs needing to open up a spot on the 28-man active roster for lefty Justin Steele (elbow), who will return from the 15-day injured list to start Wednesday's game against the Athletics. Palencia struck out two over two perfect innings out of the bullpen in Tuesday's 4-3 loss to Oakland.
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Cubs' Daniel Palencia: Recalled from Triple-A
Rotowire
The Cubs recalled Palencia from Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports.
Palencia has collected a 7.11 ERA over nine appearances out of the Cubs' bullpen this season. The hard-throwing right-hander will give the club a fresh relief arm.
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