Cubs Injuries: Daniel Palencia's Return, Ben Brown's Big Step? Hoby Milner Update, More

Ahead of the Chicago Cubs' series finale with the White Sox on Wednesday, Craig Counsell provided a long list of updates on the team's many injured players.

The good news is that the majority of those updates were on the positive side! Not only are they about to get back one of their best arms, but they could be on the brink of seeing another key pitcher return sooner than expected.

Let's go over what Counsell had to share with Marquee!

Daniel Palencia

Daniel Palencia has not pitched in a major league outing since June 15. To the Chicago Cubs' credit, they have managed rather well without one of their top bullpen arms and best closers. Nevertheless, with the postseason on the horizon, adding someone with Palencia's velocity could be a true game-changer. This is especially true after acquiring Ryan Zeferjahn at the trade deadline, who also has a mean four-seamer.

Palencia has been rehabbing over the last several weeks, making five different appearances. His most recent one came on August 16 with the Iowa Cubs, where he only allowed a hit with three strikeouts in 1.0 inning of work.

Craig Counsell has now shared that the Cubs are ready to activate Palencia. The plan will be for him to get the call on Friday, when the Cubs start their series out west with the Seattle Mariners. It will be interesting to see how the Cubs decide to use him right off the bat. Will he return to a closing role, or will they continue to ride with someone like Jacob Webb in that spot, who has been unhittable as of late?

Hoby Milner and Hunter Harvey

Jun 19, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Hoby Milner (41) pitches against the Toronto Blue Jays during the ninth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Reliever Hoby Milner is continuing his rehab and is scheduled to pitch on Thursday with the Iowa Cubs. The lefty has a 3.53 ERA on the season in 38 appearances. The Cubs haven't seen him take the mound in the bigs since June 25 against the New York Mets. He was originally sidelined with appendicitis.

Milner has now gone through five rehab assignments, allowing 3 earned runs and eight hits with five strikeouts in 6.0 innings of work. It appears unclear when Milner will get the call back to the active roster, but the Cubs' bullpen has been looking pretty crisp in recent weeks.

As for Hunter Harvey, Craig Counsell was rather blunt: "We're not in a great place with Harvey. He's been struggling to get going and we are running out of time there."

Hunter Harvey has only thrown in four major league games this season. He was transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL in May with right tricep inflammation. Injuries have been a big problem for him in the past, and it appears they could lead to his season being shut down early.

Ben Brown Trending Up

Jun 19, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Ben Brown (32) pitches against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Ben Brown is making some unexpectedly positive progress. Craig Counsell said he is headed to Arizona and will pitch to live batters on Friday. The manager referred to it as a "big" step.

Jed Hoyer shared earlier this week that there was some optimism around Brown's ability to get healthy in time for the postseason. He told 104.3 The Score that they're hopeful that he can return in some capacity in the coming weeks. All things considered, it feels safest to assume that this would be in a bullpen role, but it's worth noting that Brown was excellent in the rotation before going down with a neck injury.

Brown had a 1.88 ERA in his previous seven games, which were all starts. The 26-year-old had really seemed to figure something out, with his fastball-curve combo giving batters serious trouble. Most importantly, his command showed really positive signs, as his walk rate sits at just 7.2 percent this season.

Dansby Swanson Update

Aug 12, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson (7) gestures to his dugout while rounding the bases after hitting a home run against the Washington Nationals during the eighth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Unfortunately, there isn't a ton of good news on the Dansby Swanson front. We learned this weekend that he would likely be sidelined for 4-to-6 weeks. The Cubs are obviously crossing their fingers that Swanson will trend near the front end of that timeline.

Nevertheless, Counsell shared that Swanson will not travel with the team to Seattle this weekend and will stay back in Wrigley to work on his oblique injury. Expect them to use any extra time they can to help him get back on his feet.

Sign up for our free newsletter to stay up-to-date with all things Chicago Cubs.

Add us as a preferred source on Google