The Chicago Cubs have had some of the worst injury luck ever seen in a contending professional baseball team for pitchers.
Amid the news of Edward Cabrera and Ben Brown’s injured list stints, the Cubs have brought back an old friend.
According to the Cubs’ transaction log, they have signed reliever Drew Pomeranz to a minor league deal.
Because of the injuries the Cubs have sustained, it’s likely he gets a chance very soon.
The age-37 reliever has plenty of MLB experience and was elite with Chicago in 2025.
While this season hasn’t gone well for him so far, he might just need a change of scenery.
What Will Pomeranz Bring to the Chicago Cubs?
Cleveland drafted Pomeranz in the first round (fifth overall) in the 2010 MLB Draft out of the University of Mississippi. Cleveland traded Pomeranz to the Colorado Rockies in the Ubaldo Jiménez deal.
He would debut as a starter in 2011 with Colorado, but the results were not great. In 34 games across three seasons, he pitched to a 5.20 ERA.
He was then traded to Oakland for Brett Anderson, where he would be a solid reliever for the A’s. In 73 games (19 starts), Pomeranz pitched to a 3.08 ERA.
During 2016, he was traded to the San Diego Padres and subsequently traded to the Boston Red Sox, where he became an All-Star. In 31 games (30 starts) between the Padres and Red Sox, he would pitch to a 3.32 ERA with 186 strikeouts in 170.2 innings.
He would stay with Boston for three seasons, pitching exceptionally well in 2017 again, and winning a World Series in 2018.
After that, he would transition to a full-time reliever with the San Francisco Giants, Milwaukee Brewers and Padres again. From 2020 to 2021, he had ERA’s below 2.00. However, due to a litany of elbow injuries, Pomeranz would miss 2022 through 2024.
In 2025, he returned with the Cubs and pitched to a 2.17 ERA in 57 games. This year with the Los Angeles Angels, he has pitched to a 5.01 ERA in 25 games, resulting in his release.
How Will Pomeranz Fit on the Team?
The left-hander is a two-pitch pitcher at this point in his career, with a four-seam fastball averaging about 92 mph and a knuckle curve, per Baseball Savant.
He doesn’t strike out a lot of batters (just 14.8 K% in 2026) and doesn’t induce ground balls often (26.9%).
Therefore, there’s not much room for error with Pomeranz this year. In 2025, he had an 84th percentile K% with his four-seamer a lot better. It averaged about 1 mph more in 2025 with better movement.
However, the Chicago Cubs need all the pitching help they can get, especially in the bullpen.
Cabrera, Brown, Jameson Taillon, Cade Horton, Justin Steele, Daniel Palenica, Hunter Harvey, Porter Hodge and Riley Martin are all currently on the injured list. While Horton, Hodge and potentially Steele are out for the season, this is way too many guys to have shelved at any time.
Chicago needs a healthy staff and Pomeranz can hopefully contribute to that. If he struggles on a minor league deal, there is no risk involved and he can be cut loose. But if he stays healthy, he could provide quality innings to a Cubs bullpen that is lacking.
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