PITTSBURGH — Right-hander Daniel Palencia has brought an adjusted mindset with him in his return to the Chicago Cubs.
The Cubs recalled Palencia before Tuesday’s 9-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park and optioned rookie reliever Jack Neely to Triple-A Iowa. They also recalled right-hander Keegan Thompson to replace right-hander Julian Merryweather, who went on the 15-day injured list with right knee tendinitis.
“Sometimes we put too much pressure on us for this game,” Palencia said. “My mindset is always to win. … Right now I just want to be the same monster, the same mentality to be on the mound. That’s it. Just going day by day and enjoying the game.”
Palencia’s fastball velocity was reportedly sitting at triple digits recently at Iowa, part of his dominating success. In his last nine appearances before rejoining the Cubs, Palencia struck out 20 of the 46 batters he faced while issuing only three walks in 11 1/3 innings.
“He’s been a little up and down this year,” manager Craig Counsell said. “His last couple of outings have been exceptional. And I still think this is development. We’ve got to work on development with Daniel. We’re trying to take steps forward. He’s got a gift for this fastball, there’s no question about it. We’ve got to continue to work on developing around that and with that to unlock that.
“There’s something with Daniel that you keep working, you keep working, you keep working, and something clicks, and you’ve got something pretty special there, and that’s what we’re going to keep doing. Sometimes you’ve got to go through some iterations and some failure to get there and that’s all right.”
Palencia credited Iowa trainer Logan Severson for helping put together exercises to utilize before and after games that strengthened his shoulder. He had missed nearly one month when a right shoulder strain landed him on the injured list in early May. Palencia believes his improved shoulder strength has fueled the uptick in velocity.
“To be honest, I’ve never feel my body like that,” Palencia said. “So, right now, I’m just trying to put the show in The Show.”
Neely returns to Iowa with his first taste of the majors. Counsell believes the feedback Neely received from seeing how big-league hitters handled his stuff is the most important thing the 24-year-old can take away from his week with the Cubs.
Following a rough MLB debut, Neely struck out five, walked one and allowed two runs in three innings over three appearances. Counsell thought Neely responded well to pitching three times in a six-day stretch.
“You’re understanding your strengths, you’re understanding where your pitches play, understanding how the best hitters in the world react to your pitches, react to your stuff,” Counsell said. “So it’s all of that. For a lot of guys that get to the big leagues fairly quickly, someone can out-talent the minor leagues, and that stops happening for 90% of players here.”
Merryweather saw a doctor in Chicago and “nothing remarkable came from that,” Counsell said, so he will rehab and strengthen his knee. Merryweather’s knee has bothered him off and on this year, as well as last season, and it got to the point where his availability became difficult to predict.
“It kind of comes and goes,” Counsell said. “Sometimes he’s not affected by it and other days he is. … We can’t not know that it might affect you and have appearances like what happened on Sunday.”
The Cubs should know before Wednesday’s series finale whether left-hander Drew Smyly has been claimed off waivers.
The organization put the 35-year-old on outright waivers Monday. If a team claims Smyly, they would be responsible for the money left on his contract: a little under $2 million for the rest of this season and a $2.5 million buyout for 2025 if his $10 million mutual option isn’t picked up. Should Smyly go unclaimed, he is expected to remain with the Cubs. During this process, which is often routine at this time of the season, a player remains available on the active roster.
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