The Chicago Cubs acquired Drew Pomeranz from the Seattle Mariners on Monday, putting another relief option in their minor-league system.
The Cubs traded cash to the Mariners for the 36-year-old Pomeranz, who hasn’t appeared in a big league game since 2021. The team said the veteran left-hander would report to Triple-A Iowa.
The Cubs are on top of the NL Central with a 14-10 record, but their bullpen is off to a shaky start. They have a 5.19 bullpen ERA going into Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Wrigley Field.
Pomeranz signed a minor-league contract with Seattle on March 27. He went 0-1 with a 4.66 ERA and two saves in nine appearances with Triple-A Tacoma.
Pomeranz has a connection to Cubs manager Craig Counsell. He had a 2.39 ERA in 25 appearances with Milwaukee in 2019 while Counsell was in the dugout with the Brewers.
Pomeranz was drafted by Cleveland with the No. 5 pick in the 2010 amateur draft out of the University of Mississippi. He broke into the majors with Colorado in 2011.
He is 48-58 with a 3.91 ERA in 289 games (140 starts) over 11 years in the majors, also playing for the Athletics, San Diego, Boston and San Francisco. He was on the 2018 Red Sox World Series championship team.
Pomeranz’s brother, Stu Pomeranz, played for the Baltimore Orioles in 2012. The brothers’ great-grandfather, Garland Buckeye, was a 1916 graduate of Joliet Township High School and played professional baseball and football.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported that Pomeranz had been traded to the Cubs.