Cubs right-hander Daniel Palencia has been activated from the 15-day IL, the team announced. The closer missed three weeks with a lat strain. Fellow righty Yacksel Rios was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
Palencia initially went down with what was labeled a left oblique strain. Additional testing showed a mild lat strain. He’ll return to the big-league club after just one rehab appearance. Palencia tossed 19 pitches for Triple-A Iowa on Friday.
Before the injury, Palencia had fired five scoreless innings as the unquestioned closer for Chicago. The strong relief work had only resulted in one save, though. Since Palencia went down, the Cubs generated six saves, which went to five different relievers. Caleb Thielbar, Ben Brown, Jacob Webb, Corbin Martin, and Hoby Milner all stepped in to close out games.
More to come…