CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs’ priority is to acquire another starting pitcher for their rotation. And there is hope that their bullpen will improve through internal additions as injured pitchers get healthy. But that doesn’t mean Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer won’t look to add relief help before Monday’s trade deadline.

“Injuries are going to happen throughout the rest of the year,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “We had one today. So injuries are going to continue to happen. As an organization, you want to be best prepared for that.”

Prior to Friday’s 2-0 loss to the New York Yankees, Chicago placed Gavin Hollowell on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation and called up lefty Antoine Kelly. Hollowell had a 2.51 ERA in 14 1/3 innings, and while Counsell suggested his injury isn’t serious, it shows how tenuous the team’s bullpen situation can be.

Daniel Palencia, who has been sidelined since June 16 with a right elbow flexor strain, is scheduled to throw a live BP on Saturday (weather permitting). If that goes well, a rehab assignment would be next and a return to the big leagues could happen as soon as mid-August. Other arms are slowly on the mend as well, including Hunter Harvey, Ben Brown and Justin Steele.

But relying on injured players to return to health and perform at their full potential is a risk the Cubs just aren’t going to take. Unlike years ago, when the waiver deadline allowed deals to be made in August, teams aren’t adding after Monday.

“The reason why the deadline is maybe a little different than maybe five years ago is you can’t add any more players (after Aug. 4),” Counsell said. “So this is your organization. From Jed’s perspective, that’s the biggest deal. This is your team for the next, hopefully, two-plus months.”

What type of reliever are the Cubs targeting? According to sources with knowledge of the team’s plans, who were granted anonymity in exchange for candor, Chicago would prefer right-handed help out of the bullpen and hope to find more swing and miss.

The Cubs entered Friday with a solid 3.94 ERA from their bullpen. But adding more strikeouts would be nice. As good as Trent Thornton has been this season (3.03 ERA), having a reliever with an 11.8 percent strikeout rate working so many high-leverage innings is a risk. On Friday, the Cubs’ bullpen was 21st in baseball with a 21.4 percent strikeout rate. Of players active as of Friday, Jacob Webb, Caleb Thielbar and Tyler Ferguson all have strikeout rates well above average. Ryan Rolison is solid in that department as well. But both Rolison and Ferguson are pretty unproven, and while the Cubs like what they have with them, adding more whiff would be preferable.

“The strikeouts are great,” Counsell said. “Everybody loves strikeouts. I like strikeouts, the analysts love strikeouts, Jed loves strikeouts, the pitchers love strikeouts. The hitters don’t. That’s what you want. Every pitcher wants to get them out. If you ask them how, they want to strike them out. It’s also harder to do.”

Counsell said this, but only after he reiterated a frequent talking point: The bottom line is getting outs and Chicago will take anyone who can do that with regularity.

The Cubs believe with Thielbar and Rolison, they have two high-leverage lefties in the bullpen already. Hoby Milner is expected back soon and Kelly, called up on Friday, is a wild-card lefty who could at least help. But if the San Diego Padres decide that they could be sellers — or do a hybrid buy-sell deadline — lefty Adrian Morejon would be a target.

Morejon is a special case, of course. A southpaw who is sitting 99 mph with his four-seamer and sinker this season and has a 27 percent strikeout rate and 6.3 percent walk rate. The Cubs would love to acquire Morejon, who would instantly become their best reliever. But even though he’s a rental, the cost to add him would be high and Chicago may not be willing to meet that price.

As for high-velocity righties with big strikeout rates, Luke Weaver (New York Mets) and Jeff Hoffman (Toronto Blue Jays) both fit the mold. Both are under control for 2027 as well at $11 million. Do the Cubs want to pay the prospect price for either and be on the hook for such a large amount for a bullpen piece in 2027? It’s not the team’s style, but Chicago is still at least showing interest.

Those are the types of impactful bullpen arms who would add more certainty to Chicago’s relief core, though. The Cubs could also go another the route and add multiple arms who the organization is high on, but may not bring as much certainty. They did that last year and while Taylor Rogers didn’t add as much value as hoped, Andrew Kittredge outperformed expectations and became a key, bat-missing presence late in games for the team.

One name in that second tier who could make sense is Antonio Senzatela, a right-hander for the Colorado Rockies. He’s not the strikeout artist the Cubs would prefer, but in his first season as a full-time reliever, Senzatela is having a breakout campaign. However, he’s struggled of late, with an 8.47 ERA in his last 17 innings pitched.

Ultimately, the Cubs will be looking to add more to their bullpen. They may prefer to use their prospect capital on a starter, so perhaps they shop in a tier below the very top of the relief market. But there is an expectation that there will be an upgrade to the bullpen, along with starting pitching help, by the end of the day on Monday.