Cubs roster move: Daniel Palencia to injured list, Corbin Martin called up

The first part of this roster move, you already know, as the Cubs placed reliever Daniel Palencia on the 15-day injured list before Friday’s game with an oblique issue. Here’s how it happened (Bluesky link):

No roster move was made Friday, as this happened very close to game time, so the Cubs played Friday’s 12-4 win over the Mets one man short.

Today, the Cubs replaced Palencia on the 26-man active roster by calling up right-hander Corbin Martin from Triple-A Iowa. Martin last pitched for Iowa on Tuesday, a scoreless inning vs. Columbus. He will wear No. 38.

To make room for Martin on the 40-man roster, the Cubs placed Cade Horton on the 60-day injured list.

The bigger question is: Who’s going to close games in Palencia’s absence?

One choice might be Ben Brown, who can throw 98 miles per hour and who’s been pretty good in relief so far this year. Since allowing two runs in his first 2026 outing, Brown has a 2.38 ERA and 0.971 WHIP over his last five games with 11 strikeouts in 11.1 innings.

Caleb Thielbar might be another choice, though teams don’t often use left-handers as closers and Thielbar has just five career saves. This year Thielbar has a 3.00 ERA and 1.333 WHIP in seven games covering six innings, with eight strikeouts.

There aren’t many useful relievers in the team’s minor-league system at this time. Martin does have MLB experience (most recently with the Orioles last year, where he posted two saves) but I don’t think that’s the way Craig Counsell will go.