CHICAGO -- Cubs reliever Daniel Palencia was reinstated from the 15-day injured list Wednesday, but manager Craig Counsell said the right-hander might not return immediately as the closer or in high-leverage situations.
"I just want Daniel to pitch, you don't care where," Counsell said. "I think we've got to get Daniel outings. We've got to get Daniel on this mound. That's the only thing that's important."
The Cubs entered Wednesday on a season-high five-game losing streak after clinching a playoff berth last week. Chicago was still in the top NL wild-card spot, and its magic number to secure home-field advantage for next week's wild-card series was three.
Palencia went on the injured list Sept. 8 because of a right shoulder strain. The 25-year-old has 22 saves in 25 chances and is 1-6 with a 3.00 ERA in his third major league season -- all with the Cubs.
He was put on the IL a day after blowing his third save opportunity and injuring himself during a ninth-inning loss to the Washington Nationals in which his four-seam fastball was down 1.1 mph from his season average and his splitter was off by 1.3 mph.
In a corresponding roster move, Chicago optioned left-hander Jordan Wicks to its training complex in Arizona.
The 26-year-old Wicks is 0-1 with a 7.94 ERA in seven relief appearances covering 11â…“ innings for Chicago this season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
