Chicago Cubs Could Have New Permanent Closer

The Chicago Cubs have had lots of upheaval in their bullpen so far in 2025. They came into the season as one of the more injured units in baseball, but have managed to cobble together a serviceable relief staff for Craig Counsell to work with. While the uncertainty of the Chicago Cubs bullpen is still a major factor in the team’s overall performance, they may have stumbled into a solution for one of their most glaring problems.

As the trade deadline fast approaches, bullpen help will be a key concern for the Chicago Cubs, as it will be for most all contending teams looking to make a deep playoff run. After the struggles of Ryan Pressly early in the year, closer was going to be the primary focus for Jed Hoyer and the Chicago Cubs front office at the deadline. The emergence of Daniel Palencia may change that mindset and give the Cubs a huge advantage moving forward.

Daniel Palencia: Chicago Cubs Permanent Full-Time Closer?

The Chicago Cubs are going to need some security at the back end of their bullpen if they want to have success this October. Before the season they acquired Pressly in a deal with the Houston Astros. The hope was that Pressly could be the team’s closer for 2025 but after a slow start, Counsell started looking for other options. With the team’s success in the first two months of the season, it is clear that they will be buyers at the trade deadline and closer was expected to be a top priority for Hoyer and the Chicago Cubs front office to address. A recent trend has that assumption being challenged though.

Palencia has emerged as a premier threat out of the bullpen. Since being trusted with the role of closer, Palencia has been astounding. The 25-year-old hard-throwing right-hander from Venezuela has taken a huge leap in 2025 after not even being on the roster to start the season. Since coming up in the middle of April, Palencia has been a consistent weapon for Counsell and the Chicago Cubs. When the team started looking for alternative options for closing ball games, Palencia took advantage of the opportunity and hasn’t looked back.

Overall on the year, Palencia is 0-2 with a 1.88 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in 24 innings across 22 appearances, including 5 saves and 6 holds, with just one blown save. 2025 is shaping up to be the best season of Palencia’s young career. He had made appearances in each of the last two seasons with the Chicago Cubs, but his erratic control and inability to make clutch pitches kept him on the shuttle between the majors and AAA. In 2023 and 2024, Palencia made 37 appearances and went 5-4 with a 5.02 ERA and 1.44 WHIP.

Deadline Possibilities

After struggling to find his rhythm in the big leagues for two years, Palencia is here to stay and make a difference for the Chicago Cubs. Palencia’s growth and improvement have been a welcomed occurrence for the Chicago Cubs. While he has made an impressive jump in 2025 and could very well be the closer of the future, the front office is still looking to add relievers, one of whom could end up taking that role from Palencia this season. Rumors have connected the Chicago Cubs to Aroldis Chapman, who could become available if the Boston Red Sox continue to struggle.

Should the Cubs go out and bring back Chapman, Palencia would take on a set-up role in the bullpen alongside Pressly. If the Chicago Cubs don’t make a move to buoy the bullpen, or they decide to make a move to bring in a set-up reliever at the trade deadline, Palencia could stay in his role as the closer and be given the keys to the ninth inning in playoff games this October.

It would be a huge shift from where he was a year ago, and one that could gain traction among baseball fans as the year moves along. These possibilities all depend on what the Cubs do or don’t do at the deadline, and the first order of business is that Palencia continues to pitch as well as he has up to this point and shut the door on the Chicago Cubs’ opponents.