MESA, Ariz. — Asking Craig Counsell about the roles of his relievers is usually a futile exercise. That’s why there was so much bewilderment among local media members when Counsell gave a real answer to a question about whether Daniel Palencia would be working the ninth if the season started tomorrow.

“Yeah,” Counsell said.

The look of surprise on many faces led Counsell to quip, “Nice scoop,” to the reporter.

Bullpens, as Counsell and anyone else in baseball will tell you, are notoriously fickle. The Chicago Cubs largely rebuilt their relief group over the winter, but didn’t go out and get a no-doubt closer like Devin Williams or Robert Suarez. So it’s not a complete shock that Counsell would at least begin the season with Palencia in that role. Whether he’s there all season is the real unknown.

At this point last year, veteran Ryan Pressly was the assumed closer. By early May, he lost control of that job and was released by the end of July. Brad Keller, a non-roster invitee, became one of the most important cogs in the unit, parlaying a brilliant season into a two-year, $22 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. Palencia didn’t even make the team out of spring training.

“Craig did a really good job in our meeting (Monday) talking about how the bullpen evolved last year,” team president Jed Hoyer told reporters Wednesday. “We have all these guys in camp now; we have to focus on each guy. Because we don’t know how it’s going to shake out. It’s a volatile area.”

Palencia proves that point. Entering last season, he had a career 5.02 ERA in 43 innings over two seasons. The stuff was there as he consistently displayed a blazing fastball that hit triple digits. But the command was lacking with his walk rate at nearly 14 percent.

Then, Palencia came into spring training last February with a new mindset and a body that showed he put in real work. It didn’t lead to him being on the Opening Day roster, but it didn’t take long for him to return to the big leagues. By mid-April, he was in the bullpen. A month later, he was closing games.

“I was just trying to be ready for anything,” Palencia said. “If he needs me for the fifth or the ninth, I’ll be there. My job is making outs; that’s what I’m going to do.”

Palencia ended the season with a 2.91 ERA and 22 saves in 52 2/3 innings. He struck out 28.4 percent of the batters he faced and walked just 7.4 percent. A disastrous outing on Sept. 7 led to a quick IL stint. When he came back, his role changed. But by the time the playoffs came, Palencia adjusted to become a much-needed multi-inning fireman coming out of Counsell’s bullpen.

“No one sitting here a year ago thought that he’d be pitching as a closer, pitching huge innings in the middle of the game in the playoffs,” Hoyer said. “He did an amazing job. I think his maturation was obvious to everyone. We’re super excited about him. But the key is using that example; we need multiple Daniel Palencias every year to step up, to do things that may not have been expected. Because, especially in the bullpen, there’s going to be injuries and poor performance that are going to lead to opportunity.”

Counsell said that April is always a month to figure out roles. But despite a relatively new mix — gone are Andrew Kittredge, Keller and Drew Pomeranz; in are Phil Maton, Jacob Webb, Hunter Harvey and Hoby Milner — Counsell said it is “a pretty established group.” So it may not take as much time to figure out how the pieces fit together.

“The players that we signed, I don’t think we’re thinking about a lot of new things,” Counsell said. “They’re good at what they do. Prioritizing their health over the course of the spring is job number one and the foundation of being healthy. There’s always going to be surprises in that area of your team.”

For now, Palencia will be expected to take over a role from the start that he largely thrived in last summer.

“I learned that’s a tough situation,” Palencia said. “The game is on the line. Just trying to be calm, be myself. Trust myself.

“I always knew I was that guy. I know I’m that guy for that situation.”