The Cubs have selected the contract of right-hander Daniel Palencia, a move first reported by Marcos Grunfeld of El Emergente. The full slate of moves, as relayed by Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic, also sees infielder Patrick Wisdom activated from the injured list. In corresponding active roster moves, infielder Nick Madrigal has been placed on the 10-day IL with a right hamstring strain while right-hander Hayden Wesneski has been optioned. To open a spot on the 40-man for Palencia, righty Brad Boxberger was transferred to the 60-day IL.
Palencia, 23, was originally a prospect with the Athletics, but came over to the Cubs in the 2021 trade that sent lefty Andrew Chafin to Oakland. He’s worked mostly as a starter, but the club recently converted him to relief work upon promoting him to Triple-A.
The results there have been mixed, as he’s posted an ERA of 7.90 through 13 outings. That’s a small sample and there might be some fluky bad luck in there, considering his 50.9% strand rate. He’s struck out 27.3% of batters faced while walking 10.6%. His 4.09 FIP suggests he has deserved better results than he’s actually gotten so far. The Cubs will give him a shot at getting big league hitters out and hope that the wheel of fortune spins in a better direction for him going forward.
Madrigal left yesterday’s game with hamstring tightness and will sit out the next 10 days. It’s unclear how severe his injury is, but the upcoming All-Star break would allow him to miss only a handful of games if it’s on the minor side. He’s only struck out in 9.6% of his plate appearances but has just one home run, producing a .278/.335/.364 batting line. His roster spot will go to a hitter with the opposite profile, as Wisdom has 14 homers but a massive 38.9% strikeout rate, leading to a line of .196/.285/.467.
As for Boxberger, he’ll been on the injured list since May 14 due to a right forearm strain. He’ll now be ineligible to return until 60 days from that initial IL placement, meaning he can technically return after the All-Star break. But since he hasn’t yet started a rehab assignment, that doesn’t seem especially likely, making this transaction a mere formality.
Placenta Helper from SNL?
Well, Palencia’s minor league numbers certainly justify a….wait…. 6.83 ERA including 7.90 in AAA….
Can you imagine how surprised this guy was to be told he was being promoted to the Show?
OPTIMIST: He wasn’t scored on in his last two appearances in AAA!
Careful. The new generation will tell you ERA means nothing. Then they’ll tell you his ball spins at 10.229 rotations per pitch and that 81.208% of pitches hit against him go an average of 125-165 feet.
Careful. The new generation will tell you the Earth is round. Then they’ll tell you they used tools like compasses and sextants to navigate in a way that helped them not fall off the edge of the world.
He was part of the Chaffin trade and has shot up through the system after converting to a reliever and finishing 22 in South Bend high A.
Interesting. Doesn’t have the greatest numbers but the arm talent is definitely there. Hopefully the young flamethrower can figure it out I guess.
It looks like he has a mix of very good outings and disasters. That’s fine for mop up work into and out of the ASB.
He’ll fit right in with the 2023 Cubs!
Let hope that Nick Madrigal Is not out to long. He the sparkplug for the Chicago Cubs.
As Reggie Jackson he the straw that turns the drink. Nick M Is same thing for the Cubs
And he drives some fans crazy which is even better to those who enjoy or need comedic relief
Yup, nothing against Madrigal since he is having a nice year so far. But comparing Reggie to Madrigal makes me wonder just how many drinks you’ve consumed before you wrote your comment log guy.
Saw him hurt twisting for a foul ball yesterday. Too bad, he was starting to play well. Also. was tabbed as a great prospect before his sting of injuries.
With the trade deadline coming and the team in a downturn. It looks like another season where the “Everything Must Go” sign will be hanging.
Yeah the ERA is bad. I thought the move up to AAA to convert him to a reliever reeked of desperation as the Cubs Bullpen under Ross was struggling at the time. He had one horrible outing that I saw but otherwise looked capable. Will it work? Who freaking knows. Happy they’re at least looking at the future to see what they’ve got. That should be the focus of the rest of the season.
I figured that they don’t think he will sufficiently develop a third pitch necessary to be a starter, and that he’s deep in line behind Wesneski, Assad, Brown, and Killian to get starting opportunities in 2024 and 2025.
In Box I used to trust. I thought he would help you guys. Injuries make life stressful in Sports, especially Baseball. PS thank you for bringing lots of people to Miiller Park! I enjoy you cub fans.
Yeah, Hoyer supposedly said on the MLB teams site that he was looking for a victory to base his decisions on whether to buy or not this season. If he’s counting that win as a good thing after blowing a 6-2 lead in the 8th and ninth and throwing guys out at the plate as a major victory then I think he needs some time at the spa, You know, Just to get his brain back on track, Or whatever track it was on.
I think as long as Ross is the manager, no one should expect any different results that what they see now. Multi game winning streaks followed by multi game losing streaks and at the end of the season a .500 or sub .500 record.