Daniel Palencia Injury: Close to return

Palencia (lat) returned to the Cubs from his rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa on Saturday and is expected to be activated from the 15-day injured list in the coming days, Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network reports.

Palencia landed on the 15-day injured list in mid-April due to a left lat strain. He made his lone rehab outing Friday in Triple-A, striking out one batter while allowing one hit and zero walks in two-thirds of an inning. Palencia has not yielded a run across five major-league innings this season and will resume closing duties for the Cubs once activated from the IL.