Cubs closer Daniel Palencia nearing return, but might not return as closer immediately

Closer Daniel Palencia is nearing a return, but the Cubs might not rush him back into his high-leverage role.

Palencia, who went on the injured list with a strained left oblique April 14, pitched two-thirds of an inning Friday night and allowed a hit and struck out a batter for Triple-A Iowa against St. Paul in Minnesota.

He threw 19 pitches, 14 for strikes.

It might be a one-appearance tune-up for Palencia, who last took the mound for the Cubs on April 12 against the Pirates and earned a win by tossing a scoreless ninth as the Cubs rallied.

“Optimistic we can get him back here after that outing, if all things go well,” manager Craig Counsell said before the Cubs’ 6-5 victory over the Diamondbacks at Wrigley Field.

Asked if Palencia will return immediately as the closer, Counsell said, “He’ll go back to getting outs. We’ve got to get Danny pitching. We want to get him pitching a lot. He’s got five innings right now.”

Palencia, 26, who had 22 saves in a breakout 2025, made five appearance this season — each one inning — before getting hurt. He’s 1-0 with one save and hasn’t allowed a run in 2026. Palencia has struck out five, walked two and allowed three hits.

Lefty reliever Caleb Thielbar and righty Hunter Harvey have been throwing and progressing toward a return as the Cubs’ staff inches back after losing nine pitchers since the start of spring training.

Thielbar, who went out with a strained left hamstring last week, might be close to returning. Harvey, sidelined since April 9 with right triceps inflammation, is further off, Counsell said.

Pain everywhere

The Cubs have lost pitchers to all types of injuries — not just damaged arms — and that’s what has team president Jed Hoyer’s head spinning as much as the sheer number of casualties.

“We’ve had knees and back and lats and elbow and shoulders, so it’s not like we’ve had just consistently one injury or another,” Hoyer said to reporters before the game. “I think there’s some randomness in there, as well.”

The Cubs’ staff figures to solidify as many of the injured pitchers return, even if starter Cade Horton and reliever Porter Hodge are lost for the season after Tommy John surgery.

“We obviously need to get healthy, and some of the guys we counted on to come up need to get healthy,’’ Hoyer said.

‘‘I’m sure it’s going to be a summer of working through our internal guys, but external is going to be a real thing as we go on.”

He said the team has been trying to acquire arms via trade and has been “looking really consistently for small transactions.”

Anything major might not happen until later in the season.

“It’s also May 1, and it takes awhile for those things to happen,” Hoyer said. “We’re going to have to wait and handle those things internally.”

Steele setback no surprise

Hoyer said he wasn’t surprised lefty starter Justin Steele’s return from Tommy John surgery was pushed back until after the All-Star break. Originally, the Cubs hoped Steele, their All-Star ace at 16-5 with a 3.06 ERA in a breakout 2023, might be back no later than June.

But more than a year after Steele, 30, underwent a second major surgery on his left elbow, new imaging done Tuesday showed a flexor strain that will delay his comeback, Counsell said.

“I don’t think it’s something unexpected,” Hoyer said. “Candidly, for everything to go perfectly, it was going to be a 60-day injured list, and late May, early June would have been, like, perfection. I don’t think we expect those things with second Tommy John and flexor-surgery rehabs.”