Jacob Webb has become the Cubs' go-to reliever in the biggest late innings just as Daniel Palencia nears a return from the injured list, and the timing leaves Chicago with a choice it does not need to rush. Webb has not allowed a run in his last 18 appearances, owns a 2.49 ERA and followed back-to-back 1-2-3 ninth innings in wins over the Dodgers on Tuesday and Wednesday.
That run is why Webb is getting the ball in the moments that matter most right now. Daniel Palencia, who has logged only 16 2/3 innings this season and has been sidelined since mid June by elbow inflammation, is close to coming back, but Craig Counsell said Wednesday the Cubs will be flexible with him when he returns rather than simply dropping him back into the ninth inning.
Counsell said Palencia will need more than one minor league rehab appearance before he is activated, a sign the Cubs want to see him build innings before they put the late-game load back on his arm. He said the concern is not whether the injury is behind Palencia, but whether the Cubs can get enough innings under him quickly enough to trust him in the highest-pressure spots again.
That creates a clear split in how the bullpen is being managed. Webb has earned the trust that usually goes to a closer, while Palencia is still in the work-back stage after two injured-list stints have left his season scattered. The Cubs are not shutting the door on Palencia reclaiming that role later, but they are not promising it now either, and that matters with the team sitting 31-15 since June 11 entering Wednesday, the best record in the NL over that stretch.
The next step is simple, if not automatic: Palencia has to get through those rehab appearances first, then the Cubs will decide whether the ninth inning stays with Webb or shifts again. For now, Webb is the one finishing games, and Palencia is the one still having to earn his way back into the biggest outs.
