Apr 3, 2019; Atlanta, GA, USA; Detailed view of Chicago Cubs hats and gloves in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the fifth inning at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe Chicago Cubs<\/span><\/span> are dealing with a different kind of problem\u2014and arguably the most dangerous one in today\u2019s game.<\/p>\nLate-inning uncertainty.<\/p>\n
Daniel Palencia, the Cubs\u2019 closer, is on the IL with an oblique strain. For pitchers, oblique injuries are especially tricky. They directly impact mechanics, command, and velocity.<\/p>\n
And for a closer, that\u2019s everything.<\/p>\n
Before the injury, Palencia was locking down games and giving Chicago a clear identity in the ninth inning. Now?<\/p>\n
There is no certainty.<\/p>\n
The Cubs are likely heading toward a closer-by-committee approach, which often leads to:<\/p>\n
\n- Blown saves<\/li>\n
- Overworked relievers<\/li>\n
- Constant role changes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
In a tight division race, bullpen instability can derail a team quickly. One or two blown games in April might not seem huge\u2014but they add up fast.<\/p>\n
The Bigger Picture: April Injuries Are Already Defining 2026<\/h2>\n
Three teams. Three injuries. Three completely different ripple effects.<\/p>\n
\n- The Brewers lose their offensive leader<\/li>\n
- The Padres lose rotation stability<\/li>\n
- The Cubs lose bullpen certainty<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
And it all happens within one week.<\/p>\n
This is the reality of modern baseball: early-season injuries are no longer slow storylines\u2014they\u2019re immediate turning points.<\/p>\n
The teams that succeed in 2026 won\u2019t just be the most talented. They\u2019ll be the deepest. The most adaptable. The most prepared for moments exactly like this.<\/p>\n
Because if the first few weeks are any indication, staying healthy might be the biggest advantage of all.<\/p>\n
\n(Top Image Credit: USA TODAY Sports (c) Copyright USA TODAY Sports)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MLB Injury Report 2026: Yelich, Pivetta, Palencia Shake Up Early Season The 2026 MLB season is barely underway, but the injury bug is already hitting hard\u2014and it\u2019s impacting contenders in a big way. Between April 13 and April 20, three key players\u2014Christian Yelich, Nick Pivetta, and Daniel Palencia\u2014have all landed on the Injured List. Each […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5710,"featured_media":103368,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"656","footnotes":""},"categories":[4454,24,2,27,1071,35,30],"tags":[4660,28524,4650,29230,3662,69,3008,4666,93],"class_list":["post-119647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-baseball-history","category-cubs","category-featured","category-brewers","category-mlb","category-news","category-padres","tag-brewers-featured","tag-cubs","tag-cubs-featured","tag-daniel-palencia","tag-milwakee-brewers","tag-mlb","tag-nick-pivetta","tag-padres-featured","tag-san-diego-padres"],"modified_by":"Eddie Lennon, Staff Writer","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5710"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119647"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119647\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":119663,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119647\/revisions\/119663"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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