Let the Gasolina Flow: Daniel Palencia Has to Be on the Mound if Venezuela Needs Him Tonight

[Matthew Trueblood]

Image courtesy of © Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Daniel Palencia has pitched seven scoreless innings this spring. The first three were virtually meaningless Cactus League warmups. The last four have been some of the biggest games of his life, serving as the closer for Team Venezuela in its first-ever run to the finals of the World Baseball Classic. He closed down wins for his country in both the quarterfinals against Japan on Saturday and the semifinals against Italy on Monday. Now, there's a tough question at hand.

Relievers don't work three times in four days during March. That simply doesn't happen. It's not even something rubber-armed guys do to get ready for that pattern when it arises during the regular season; it's viewed as a greater risk than it's worth. However, Palencia has pitched twice in the last three days, including Monday night. If Venezuela has a late lead it needs to protect, will he be available to pitch?

The answer isn't clear. Team USA closer Mason Miller is in a similar situation, having pitched both Thursday and Saturday, but he has an extra day of rest in his would-be three-appearance window—and still, neither he nor the team is yet committing to him being able to go. Miller did need a combined 40 pitches to get through his outings Thursday and Saturday, though. Palencia has yet to throw more than 17 pitches in a WBC game, and only needed 13 and 15 to mow down Japan and Italy, respectively.

With hard throwers, in particular, a heavy early workload feels risky. There's no getting around the fact that Cubs fans have divided allegiances, because for many of them, the top priority is having Palencia healthy for the full regular season and (they hope) postseason ahead. Indeed, realistically, that's the nature of the relationship between MLB and international baseball right now: the latter is subservient to the former. Major League Baseball puts on the WBC; the event has little hope of real independence from the league.

In my opinion, though, if the right moment comes, Palencia has to be on that mound. The Cubs should contact Venezuelan manager Omar López expressly to tell him that he has their blessing to go to his closer. This could easily be the biggest baseball moment of Palencia's life—even bigger than winning a World Series in the States. He deserves the opportunity, and international baseball needs that boost in legitimacy.

Players take extended breaks from the top soccer clubs in the world several times each season to reunite with their national teams for various competitions and qualifiers. Sometimes, guys get hurt during international duty, as happened to Seiya Suzuki in the quarterfinals of the WBC. Other times, when a player needed a true break, playing for their country further wears them out instead, and they need to be lightly used for a period after returning from abroad. It's never fun when these things happen, but there's little expectation from fans that clubs will exercise power over the player or some national federation to prevent them from playing.

That's the culture we need to pursue with baseball. If players want to play winter ball in Australia or in the Caribbean, they shouldn't need their MLB team's permission. When players join their national teams for the WBC or the Olympics, they shouldn't be constrained in usage by the dictates of their home club. We can move forward, toward a less MLB-centric baseball world. It can be a more vibrant world, and a more immersive one. Injury risk is a part of the game, but it should be a shared burden, and letting players and lesser leagues have more power to decide when and how players are used would do that—while also fostering the growth of shared benefits, like a game with greater global popularity and a more year-round calendar. 

It's clear that pitching for Venezuela is important to Palencia. He looks strong. He's been efficient. He has a chance to create the memory of a lifetime Tuesday night, if the right situation arises. If that happens, López should give him that chance, and the Cubs and their fans should be rooting unreservedly for a showdown between Palencia and Alex Bregman or Pete Crow-Armstrong with everything on the line.

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