CHICAGO — Daniel Palencia, whose next-level performance in last year’s playoffs made him the unquestioned Opening Day closer for the Chicago Cubs, experienced a setback that will have to be factored into the club’s plans for the Aug. 3 trade deadline.Palencia traveled to the organization’s Arizona training complex for the All-Star break, hoping to accelerate his throwing program before rejoining Chicago’s depleted bullpen. But the right elbow inflammation that put him on the injured list one month ago has not completely subsided.“We’re making progress with Daniel, but we’re not moving forward,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said before Friday night’s 5-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins at Wrigley Field. “We’re just having to repeat some steps so far.”The projected timetable for Palencia’s return has been pushed back from early August to “probably mid-August right now,” Counsell said. “Assuming we move forward from here.”A case for the Cubs to pursue Tarik SkubalEno Sarris and Derek VanRiperAt this point, the Cubs can’t make any assumptions about their 12 pitchers currently on the injured list, and they won’t rule out adding to both the bullpen and the rotation for the stretch run.Although Counsell and his coaches have skillfully maneuvered pitchers into different roles by getting buy-in from players and thinking outside the box, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer acknowledged the limits to that creativity.“Don’t get me wrong, Craig likes ‘out-getters,’” Hoyer said. “He also likes not burning through the bullpen all the time. It’s important to be able to give him some stability. Getting 18 or even 21 outs in a game makes the next game a lot easier. (We’re not) acting as though innings for a starter don’t matter at all. It has a cascading impact that is real.”Searching for that dependability, the Cubs anticipate activating Jameson Taillon (strained left hamstring) from the injured list for their upcoming series against the Detroit Tigers. Taillon isn’t having a great season (2-5, 5.19 ERA), but he has a solid track record over his 10 years in the majors, and the Cubs won both of the elimination games he started last October.