The Chicago Cubs bullpen has continued to give the organization and fanbase headaches so far this season despite the team remaining in first place. This isn’t new to the organization, as some could make the argument that the relief pitching unit is what held the Cubs back of making the playoffs in each of the last two seasons. This especially came into effect in the the 2024 campaign after the franchise finished the year with an 83-79 record for the second straight season.
Even though the front office has struggled to bring in the right veterans for high-leverage situations over the past few years, the player development department down on the farm hasn’t helped with bringing in homegrown talent in the bullpen either. The best teams in baseball over the last handful of years have had stables with a blend of good veteran talent and homegrown arms. Chicago knows the recipe for success in their relief pitching unit, they just have not been able to execute on it.
One of the few in-house younger arms has pitched well so far for the team this season and might receive a bigger role moving forward.
Daniel Palencia could be an answer to the Chicago Cubs’ problems
Daniel Palencia has quietly been lights out so far in 2025. The right-hander didn’t start the season with the club, but the hope is that he won’t need to go back down to Triple-A with how well he is throwing the baseball this season. Palencia has pitched in 11 games this season and has a 1.38 ERA to pair with his 0.77 WHIP in 13.0 innings tossed.
The right-hander has a fastball that tops at 101 mph and can blow it by most hitters in the league. His main issue relies in his accuracy, but his walk numbers have been down drastically early into this season compared to the previous couple of years. Palencia pitched in 10 games with Chicago in 2024 and almost had as many walks (12) as strikeouts (16) in 14.2 innings of work. He relieved Colin Rea yesterday with two outs in the seventh inning and did not allow a run in 1.1 innings tossed. Palencia struck out two and walked one in the 5-2 victory.
The Chicago Cubs need Daniel Palencia to throw more breaking balls
Porter Hodge and Ryan Pressly were the eighth and ninth inning options for Chicago entering this season. Pressly has been a tough watch so far this season and Hodge has been mostly sharp with the exception of a couple of rough outings. There is no doubt that Chicago will need to add a couple of bullpen arms at the least when the deadline rolls around toward the end of the summer, but they’ll have to make it work in the meantime.
Palencia could be a guy that the coaching staff gives an opportunity to have a more prominent role in the stable. If he can be more consistent with locating his fastball and trust his splitter and slider more, the Cubs could utilize him big time down the stretch this summer. He has the arsenal to be an elite reliver, it’s just about putting everything together at the right time.
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