With Cubs closer Daniel Palencia heading to injured list, how will Craig Counsell handle his bullpen?

ATLANTA — The Cubs ended Sunday with a rough blown-save loss and an injured closer. On Monday, the team officially placed right-handed reliever Daniel Palencia on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder strain.

Palencia entered the ninth inning Sunday with the Cubs holding a 3-1 lead. After coughing up the lead following a solo homer, a single, a walk and a three-run homer, Palencia allowed a triple and then doubled over after his first pitch to the final batter he faced.

With 18 games left to play after Monday’s 4-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves, the immediate concern is whether Palencia will return this season.

“I don’t think I know the answer to that question right now,” manager Craig Counsell said. “We put him on the injured list. We’re going to take these three days to treat him. And then Friday in Chicago, we’ll probably have a better idea what direction this is going to go.”

The Cubs’ bullpen wasn’t the concern Monday, but once again, an offense that far too often has looked lifeless in the second half of the season. Chicago barely mustered a threat against Bryce Elder until the sixth inning, facing the righty for the second time in a week. For now, the offense remains the Cubs’ biggest obstacle in finding their first-half form.

“We did nothing for five innings, we did zero for five innings,” Counsell said. “You can’t just give the other team 15 outs to start the game. You’re putting yourself against a wall. Not good enough offensively. That’s the bottom line tonight.”

As for the bullpen, the question now becomes who will handle the ninth inning with Palencia down. Counsell, as expected for those who are familiar with him, wasn’t tipping his hand.

“It’s as simple as trying to get 27 outs,” Counsell said. “However that lines up, it lines up.”

The final few outs probably won’t be the biggest concern. Brad Keller hasn’t allowed a run and has only allowed three hits, all singles, since the All-Star break. On the season, he has a 2.17 ERA with a 26.2% strikeout rate, 8.1% walk rate and 56.8% groundball rate.

“I feel like I have more tools to work with going out there pitching,” Keller said. “Overall confidence feeling strong, feeling healthy. Obviously, we have a great defense behind me, and I feel really comfortable putting the ball in play.

“Overall, feeling really good. It’s fun to go out there and just be like, ‘Here’s my best stuff,’ and go after guys and challenge them.”

Along with Keller, Andrew Kittredge will continue to get high-leverage work from the right side. The veteran has a 3.57 ERA, and his peripherals since joining the Cubs have been stellar, with a 33.3 percent strikeout rate and 3.7 percent walk rate in 14 innings. Counsell also has a dominant lefty in Caleb Thielbar (2.12 ERA with strong strikeout and walk rates) and an impressive second southpaw in Drew Pomeranz (2.34 ERA).

Instead of having a traditional closer, Counsell will likely go inning by inning, piecing things together by looking at the best pockets for each reliever — a lefty or a righty — and game situation to get through contests. The bigger question may actually be whether someone can step up and eat the innings they lose with Palencia out. The righty had been shaky of late and didn’t seem to have as tight a hold on his role as it had seemed a couple of months ago. He’d given up runs in six of his 11 outings in August and had started to appear in more non-save situations as well.

Lefty Taylor Rogers (rough 6.17 ERA with the Cubs, but outstanding peripherals suggest the potential for better results to come) is a solid veteran who could be needed to get big outs. Porter Hodge, who was dominant in 2024, has started to look better in his most recent call-up. After sitting at 95 mph with his four-seamer in short stints in June and July, Hodge is up to 96.5 mph in his most recent stint and looked like his old self over the weekend.

“Porter probably had his best inning of the year Friday,” Counsell said. “We’ve put together a couple of good outings in a row. That’s absolutely encouraging. This injury is going to create some more opportunities for him.”

Another arm that could be big for the bullpen down the stretch is Michael Soroka. The Cubs acquired Soroka at the trade deadline, hoping he could give them some solid starts. His velocity was trending down at the time, and three innings into his first outing with the team, Soroka exited with a shoulder injury.

Soroka should be able to help this team as a reliever, a role he thrived in last season. In 36 innings out of the bullpen in 2024, Soroka had a 2.75 ERA with a 39% strikeout rate. Counsell said the staff was “very encouraged” by Soroka’s live batting practice sessions, where his velocity was back up to 94 mph. He’s supposed to make a rehab appearance with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs on Wednesday and could return soon after that.

Counsell said that Jameson Taillon, who made one rehab start with Iowa after being put on the injured list with a right calf strain, will return to the rotation Wednesday. Javier Assad will move to the bullpen.

Pete Crow-Armstrong returned to the lineup Monday as the designated hitter, going 0-for-4 with a strikeout. Counsell said he was going “pretty good” and could return to the field Tuesday or at worst Wednesday.

“There’s nothing structural to worry about here,” Counsell said. “The thought is DH’ing minimizes the opportunity where he may have to dive, slide, change direction quickly, slow down multiple times.”

Kyle Tucker remained out of the lineup, and Counsell said that while he was available off the bench, they chose to avoid using him to be extra cautious. Counsell said Monday was “another good day of progress” for Tucker, and he got very close to full speed while doing a lot of running activity.

Is there still a chance for an IL stint?

“At this point, no,” Counsell said. “I think we’re making good progress. As long as we’re having days where we’re moving forward and getting closer — that’s what we’ve felt the last two days, especially — we’re in a good place.”

That has to be taken as good news. With the National League Central title looking out of reach, the final few weeks of the season are largely about seeding and homefield advantage in the wild-card round. But most important is whether the players who helped make this offense hum in the first half can find their rhythm. If Tucker and Crow-Armstrong can be their best selves, the Cubs have a chance to make real noise in October.

“We’ve got very good hitters that we’ve gotta get back on track,” Counsell said.“They will, they will. But it’s time to do it.”

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