How the Cubs wound up trading for future closer Daniel Palencia at the trade deadline

New York Times

08-07-2025

As Chicago Cubs officials deliberated ahead of the 2021 trade deadline, they worked on a small transaction that would not resonate until four years later. Amid the flurry of deals during that franchise-changing event, Jed Hoyer's front office evaluated an A-ball pitcher with a 6.91 ERA. As intricate as baseball's modeling systems can be, the logic behind acquiring Daniel Palencia was straightforward: This dude throws 100.
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Velocity is still the main thing for Palencia, whose thumping walk-out music at Wrigley Field is Daddy Yankee's 'Gasolina.' By this point, when he emerges from the bullpen, a crowd of roughly 40,000 people can expect to hear the 'Go Cubs Go' victory song playing a few minutes later on the ballpark's sound system. As automatic as those final three outs appear to be right now, his rise to becoming a dominant closer for a first-place team was not entirely smooth.
Go back to that 2021 trade deadline when Anthony Rizzo, Javier Báez and Kris Bryant would all scatter. The Cubs had multiple scouts filing reports on Palencia, who at the time was pitching for the Stockton Ports, the California League affiliate of what was then known as the Oakland Athletics.
The Athletics had signed Palencia as an international free agent out of Venezuela on Valentine's Day 2020, about a month before the baseball industry shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which would wipe out that entire minor-league season.
Palencia made six 'starts' for Class-A Stockton in 2021, though none of those appearances lasted longer than three innings. As the Cubs shopped left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin, Palencia's name popped up. One of the more promising dispatches on 'Ivy,' the club's information-sharing platform, was optimistic but not effusive: Interesting project for player development. Sitting 97-99 for strikes. Low efficiency. Solid splitter.
In thinking about faraway prospects such as Palencia, Hoyer used a different sports metaphor. The Cubs wanted to take more shots on goal. Good things happen when a team moves aggressively and creates opportunities. By hanging around the net, the Cubs wouldn't bury every chance, but they would be in scoring position. Eventually, some of those deals would break through.
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It just took some time with Palencia, 25, who did not make the club's Opening Day roster this season, and wasn't summoned from Triple-A Iowa until April 15. His career major-league numbers heading into this year (5.02 ERA in 43 innings) were unspectacular and inconsistent.
'In spring training, the first time we talked, it was clear to me that he had turned the corner here,' Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. 'In young players, one of the things you're looking for is: 'Can I assess what happened last year? Can I self-assess? Can I do it well, and can I do it fairly?'
'He just understood what happened, and then you make the necessary adjustments. A lot, for Daniel, was just mental, (getting) through the confidence issue, and then trusting what he's great at.'
Palencia reported to the Arizona complex in better shape and with a new outlook. Those physical changes helped him maintain his velocity and pitch more effectively in back-to-back games. Focusing on the mental side of the game enabled him to prepare for each outing and then move on to the next one without worrying about getting sent back to Iowa or wondering if he was ready to handle the ninth inning.
'Confidence,' Palencia explained. 'I know I'm good. I know that that's the moment for me.'
That internal belief was tested early this season. Ryan Pressly's initial struggles as Chicago's closer and Porter Hodge's subsequent injury issues thrust Palencia into the spotlight. His first save attempt on May 19 did not go as planned.
With two outs in the ninth inning, Palencia was one strike away from finishing the Miami Marlins. Things then quickly unraveled when he hung a slider to Derek Hill, who ripped the pitch to the opposite field for a double. Palencia walked the next batter on four pitches before serving up a walk-off triple to Jesús Sánchez in an 8-7 loss.
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Instead of overreacting, Counsell kept giving Palencia chances. And rather than allowing their season to spiral, the Cubs kept competing.
Since that moment, Palencia has quieted any doubters. He has allowed just two earned runs in 16 innings following that blown save, striking out 19 while walking just four (one intentionally). His overall body of work includes a 1.71 ERA, a 0.947 WHIP and 10 saves in 11 opportunities.
Daniel Palencia 101 mph ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/NjFdJf2kP5
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 31, 2025
Palencia's growth was perhaps most clearly illustrated with his June 26 save at Busch Stadium, which salvaged a split against the St. Louis Cardinals. Handed a 3-0 lead, Palencia allowed a leadoff double to Alec Burleson and then hit Willson Contreras with a pitch on a 1-2 count. Contreras, the excitable ex-Cub, took exception and barked at Palencia. A lesser reliever might have gotten rattled and overthought the situation.
Not Palencia. The overpowering right-hander bore down, striking out the next three batters and celebrating what looked like a defining moment.
'That's being a closer,' Counsell said. 'You come in with a lead, the other team gets a rally, and then the emotion in the stadium starts to go up. You have to control it and make pitches. That's where Danny's taken a huge step forward this year.'
Palencia wasn't necessarily the biggest prospect in the Chafin trade, which came together while the lefty reliever was out in the Wrigley Field bullpen during a July 26, 2021, game. In taking more shots on goal, the Cubs also acquired Triple-A outfielder Greg Deichmann, a second-round pick who had played in the Arizona Fall League and at Louisiana State University. Deichmann appeared in 14 games for the Cubs in 2021 before being released the following year. For Palencia, this season probably represented a make-or-break year in Chicago.
Palencia doesn't have a track record in the playoffs or a full major-league season on his resume. The Cubs are planning to look at the entire pitching market and get creative at the July 31 trade deadline, which means they aren't ruling out adding another closer. But the Cubs are in a position to think big because this dude throws 100.
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'The stuff's always been electric,' Cubs outfielder Ian Happ said. 'But there's confidence he'll throw strikes with the fastball, and mix in the slider and the splitter in the right spots. And he's got the right attitude for it. That's key. He's got the right presence on the mound for that situation.'