Cubs Make 'Brutal' Decision on Closer Daniel Palencia Injury

Like many players with the Cubs, closer Daniel Palencia has had a rough go of things here in the late summer. He welcomed August with a scoreless ninth inning on the first of the month, lowering his ERA to 1.36, and earning his 15th save of the season.

But since then, he has given up a run in seven of his 14 appearances, going 1-4 with an 8.74 ERA. Things unraveled altogether on Sunday in a loss to the Nationals, which saw Palencia come in with a 3-1 lead, give up two homers without getting an out and yield five runs total, in a 6-3 loss.

After the game, a Cubs team that has been grinding through injuries in recent month found it had another injury on its hands: Palencia hurt his shoulder during his implosion against Washington.

Given how good he has been this season, MLB Trade Rumors’ Nick Deeds wrote of the injury: “However long Palencia ultimately ends up being sidelined, the news is a brutal blow to Chicago.”

On Monday, manager Craig Counsell explained that the team was putting Palencia on the 15-day injured list and remaining hopeful that the issue can be fixed quickly with treatment that can get him back on the mound and back in midseason form. If he can’t, it will go down as a brutal hit for the Cubs staff.

As of now, at least, Palencia will not be having surgery.

What Is Daniel Palencia’s Injury?

Counsell described Palencia’s injury as a “shoulder strain,” and said that it occurred on Sunday–the injury, according to Counsell, isn’t linked to his earlier struggles. The Cubs are in Atlanta, and the hope is that when the team returns to Chicago over the weekend, Palencia will be responding to treatment.

“I think what we’re gonna do is just treat the symptoms for this series here in Atlanta, see where that gets us, Wednesday night,” Counsell said. “And then figure out the next move from there, with going back home and the day off and stuff. It’s a shoulder strain. We’re just going to give him treatment and see how it responds over the next couple of days and then go from there.

“We put him on the injured list. We’re gonna take these three days to treat him and then I think Friday in Chicago we’ll probably have a better idea what direction this is gonna go.”

How Will Cubs Handle Bullpen Duties With Palencia Out?

That means the Cubs, who lost to the Braves, 4-1, on Monday, are not out of the woods on Palencia. Counsell, on Sunday, described the injury as a “posterior capsule strain” and, at its worst, that injury could keep Palencia out for the remainder of the season.

In his place, the Cubs will have a variety of options. New reliever Andrew Kittredge, acquired at the trade deadline, could get a chance to close games, and Brad Keller (2.17 ERA in 62.1 innings) has shown he can be an option, too.

Said Counsell: “It’s as simple as trying to get 27 outs and however that lines up, it lines up.”

Asked if anyonye needed to step up, Counsell was dismissive, “They don’t have to step up, they just have to continue doing what they’re doing. The answer is, the guys in the bullpen, just keep doing what you’re doing. The three outs we’ve been asking Daniel to get, we’re gonna have to get three additional outs, someone else is gonna have to get three outs in the course of the game.

“We’ll figure out the best way to piece that together.”

Top 4 observations for Denver Broncos in Week 1 that are not overreactions

After struggling with the Tennessee Titans in Week 1, is the sky falling in the Mile High City? There is a very simple answer to this, and it's a resounding no.

The Denver Broncos were able to defeat the Tennessee Titans 20-12 on Sunday to win their first season-opening game since 2021. But many fans in Broncos Country and those around the country are already panicking and talking about this team being overrated. 

Following the game, there were many fans concerned over the team's play and many doubters making fun of those who picked the Broncos to win get as far as the Super Bowl this year. 

your "2025 super bowl dark horse" denver broncos everybody

— Ʊ ColtsHype Ʊ (@ColtsHype) September 7, 2025

 

And there were thousands more just like that. 

For those who don't believe in the team, that will continue all season. But for those in Broncos Country who might need a little reassurance, just remember, the glass can be half full, too. With that said, here are four real observations from this game that are not overreactions. 

Denver Broncos Week 1 Observations

Bo Nix is putting too much trust in his arm

Bo Nix played what was probably his worst game for the Broncos on Sunday and that was highlighted by some uncharacteristic mistakes. He threw two terrible interceptions, the kind you saw him avoid as a rookie, and that is a concern.

What's wrong with #Broncos quarterback Bo Nix? | Dover On Denver with @JoshuaDover pic.twitter.com/0jrm8ac7Wa

— Denver Sports 104.3 (@DenSports1043) September 9, 2025

But these are things that Nix, who is a total student of the game, will see this in film study and make the appropriate corrections. He was trying to do too much. He didn't take what the defense gave him and he got away from what makes him great. But, by no means, was this performance reason to believe that he is suddenly a bad quarterback. 

Sean Payton needs to be better at calling plays

This is what Sean Payton is known for; it's what has made him one of the more respected offensive minds of his generation. But some of his play calls in this game were head scratchers, at best. 

Calling a deep shot to Marvin Mims on 4th-and-8 from the Titans' 36-yard line with 1:05 left to play was just bad football, and kept the door open for the upset. He also needs to lean more heavily on his rushing attack starting in Week 2 against the Colts. 

The defense is as advertised

The Broncos' defense was touted as being one of the best in the NFL and there was nothing that took place in this game that might change that. The Broncos have elite players all over the defense and are going to be able to win a lot of games because of it. 

With the likes of Pat Surtain II, Nik Bonitto and Talanoa Hufanga out there, guys like Justin Strnad and Jonah Elliss stepped up their level of play. This is a good unit with a chance to be great. 

The sky is not falling in Denver

How could it be after just one game? A game, by the way, that the Broncos won! Sure, they struggled a bit with a bad Titans team, but Week 1 is historically a weird week in the NFL. This is hardly the game to jump off the bandwagon for. 

It was sloppy, but that will get cleaned up. The NFL is a league where wins are hard to come by and you don't get anything extra for style points. The Broncos will be just fine. 

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