How Cubs' Daniel Palencia shifted his perspective to step into closer role
ST. LOUIS — Cubs right-hander Daniel Palencia credits veteran left-hander Matthew Boyd with some of the best advice he’s received. But Boyd sees it a little differently.
“I shouldn’t take credit,” he said. “He was the one asking questions.”
They were talking in the visitors’ training room at Petco Park in San Diego in mid-April after Palencia, 25, had allowed a run in his second appearance of the season. He asked Boyd, 34, what advice from veterans had been the most useful for him earlier in his career. Boyd’s answer: Don’t try to be anyone else. And the best pitch is the one in which you have conviction.
With that approach helping to fuel his confidence, Palencia entered Monday with a 1.93 ERA and manager Craig Counsell’s trust in save situations.
The Cubs began the season with veteran Ryan Pressly as their closer, but in early May, he surrendered eight earned runs to the Giants without an out, and the job transferred to Porter Hodge. A week and a half later, Hodge landed on the injured list with a strained oblique and Palencia, the flame-thrower whose fastball averages more than 99 mph, stepped up.
As a hip injury has prolonged Hodge’s IL stint, what had looked like a short-term assignment for Palencia has now lasted more than a month. And Palencia has made good, to say the least, with seven saves in eight opportunities.
“Last year, I didn’t enjoy all my days here because I put too much pressure on myself,” Palencia told the Sun-Times. “So right now, I feel like a little boy playing baseball, just having fun every day.”
The way he has been performing in high-leverage situations, it’s easy to forget he only has been a reliever for a couple of years.
The Cubs acquired Palencia from the Athletics at the 2021 trade deadline as part of a deal for left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin. It was the middle of Palencia’s first professional season. And he continued on the starter’s path that he’d begun chartering in the A’s system.
In May of 2023, the Cubs put Palencia on the development list and guided him through the transition to the bullpen. Straight from there, they promoted him to Triple-A.
A little over a month later, he made his major-league debut in extra innings at American Family Field, tossing two scoreless innings against the Brewers to make the Cubs’ 7-6 win possible.
Palencia recalls pitching coach Tommy Hottovy asking him at one point what he wanted out of his career. Did he want to be an All-Star closer or pursue a starting role?
He chose the former.
But his quick rise hasn’t always been smooth sailing. He battled through an injury last season and finished with a 6.14 ERA in the majors after bouncing between the big leagues and Triple-A.
“The league is difficult on young players in that regard — it makes you worry about a lot of stuff,” Counsell said. “There’s always a chance when you get here, ‘Am I going to get sent down?’ And that’s a real concern for players. I understand why. And I think Danny went through a lot of that last year every time he took the mound.
“And it’s not that it wasn’t a possibility when he came here this year, it’s just that he decided not to worry about it. And I think that gave him a lot of confidence.”
As a likely byproduct, Palencia’s composure in big moments has stood out the most to Hottovy.
“Last year, you would see at-bats get away from him and affect two or three hitters [after that], and it takes awhile to get that locked back in,” Hottovy said. “He’s taking it pitch to pitch [now]. . . . The stuff is real. Everybody sees it. The velocity is there. So when he’s in the strike zone, he’s going to be really tough to beat.”
In addition to Boyd, Palencia has learned from observing Pressly. He also has remained in regular contact with former Cubs closer Adbert Alzolay — now in the Mets’ organization — whom he considers a big-brother figure. But Palencia isn’t trying to be any of them.
“He does some things in here that nobody else can do,” Boyd said. “Yet he’s still learning from other guys, implementing it into his game, without losing his identity. I think that’s really cool.”