Cubs closer Daniel Palencia suffered a shoulder injury during Sunday’s game [VIDEO].
The Cubs placed Palencia on the 15-day injured list Monday with a right shoulder strain. To replace Palencia on the active roster, right-hander Ethan Roberts was recalled from Triple-A Iowa.
Obviously, Roberts isn’t going to replace Palencia closing games. That will likely to go to some combination of Brad Keller, Andrew Kittredge and maybe Porter Hodge.
There are 21 days left in the regular season. An IL stint of 15
days means the earliest he could return would be for the final six games of the season vs. the Mets and Cardinals. With an injury like this, a return that fast seems unlikely. It’s hard to say whether Palencia is out for the year or not, but at this point I’d say that’s more likely than not.
There’s no word on any IL placement for Kyle Tucker, who is now missing his fifth game in a row. There is some news about Tucker:
Moises Ballesteros was reported to be in Atlanta, but that appears to be just a precaution. At this point, in my view, delaying an IL stint has wasted several games and the Cubs have been playing short-handed.
As always, we await developments.
