Cubs Get Good News on One Key Injured Player, but Bad News on Another

The Chicago Cubs are dealing with a slew of injuries as the postseason rapidly approaches, with two of the most noteworthy ones coming to slugger Kyle Tucker and closer Daniel Palencia. Cubs manager Craig Counsell provided injury updates on both on Friday, Sept. 12.

Bad news out of the way first: Tucker, though eligible to return when he’s activated off the IL on Tuesday Sept. 16, doesn’t look to be ready that quickly. He is dealing with a strain in his left calf, and according to Counsell, running is the thing that seems to be holding his return back.

“I would say Tuesday is unlikely right now,” Counsell said Friday. “He is doing activity. The symptomatic stuff is the running right now. We’re on a bike, we’re hitting still, throwing. We’re hoping to have a weekend of no symptoms doing any of that and that will lead us back onto the field and to the running and then go from there.”

Now to the good news. Palencia, who isn’t available to be re-activated until Sept. 23, seems to be progressing well already, less than a week into his IL stint. The closer is dealing with a right shoulder strain.

Palencia played catch for the first time on Friday, in what Counsell deemed a “diagnostic catch.” he threw the ball well and is scheduled to play catch again today and see how he was able to recover from his first throwing activity Friday.

Tucker’s Importance in the Postseason

It’s tough to emphasize enough how crucial Kyle Tucker’s role is for this Cubs team as they head towards the postseason. The Cubs are a young team with little postseason experience outside of Tucker, Dansby Swanson and Justin Tucker.

It is imperative that Tucker gets healthy for the playoffs, as both an on-field and clubhouse leader. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Chicago play it safe with his injury for the remainder of the regular season so that he is a full go come October.

Tucker has 64 games of postseason experience from his time with the Houston Astros, where he won a World Series in 2022. The Cubs haven’t been in the playoffs since the 2020 COVID-shortened season, and in that time, nearly their entire roster has turned over. Tucker’s leadership will be huge if the Cubs want to go on a run in October.

Palencia’s Role When He Returns

In Palencia’s absence, veteran Andrew Kittredge has emerged as a solid candidate to be the Cubs closer coming down the stretch. There’s a good chance that when Palencia is back and healthy, he splits the closer role with Kittredge, or maybe even turns into a 7th and 8th inning guy.

Counsell is focused on a holistic approach with his bullpen heading into the home stretch.

“[He will assume the role] of getting outs,” Counsell said. “We’re in the ‘getting outs’ mode.”

Palencia has had the most successful season of his career in 2025, posting an ERA of 3.00 while he has converted 22 of 25 save opportunities. He has 59 strikeouts in 51 innings pitched this season.

Red Sox' intended backup catcher to Connor Wong listed as team's hidden gem this season

The Boston Red Sox came into this season with only one proven catcher in Connor Wong, and they had traded their top catching prospect in Kyle Teel for Garrett Crochet. Little did they know that they would have a hidden talent in a rookie they picked up off their rival.

According to Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller, the Sox’ hidden gem is their catcher Carlos Narváez, who has had a breakout rookie season and is arguably one of the best catchers in the MLB. 

“[Narváez] was never supposed to be Plan A at catcher for Boston. That was Connor Wong's job. Even Plan B was up in the air heading into spring training, with Narváez battling Blake Sabol and Seby Zavala to become the primary backup. He won that competition, though, and unexpectedly became Plan A when Wong landed on the IL less than two weeks into the campaign. But it was when Wong returned in early May that Narváez really began to shine, triple-slashing .346/.443/.538 over his next 32 games played, becoming Boston's primary clean-up hitter,” Miller wrote.

While Narváez has cooled down offensively since then, he’s still a defensive menace. He’s slashing .250/.321/.426/.747 with 13 home runs. He’s also a menace behind the plate, with nine outs above average, which is the best in the American League, and only two behind the best in the MLB.

Narváez has truly been a great replacement after losing Teel, who’s gone on to tear it up for the Chicago White Sox. However, it was worth getting Crochet, and Narváez has been a great catcher, and looks like he’ll be around for a while.

Continue reading