The Mariners and veteran left-hander Drew Pomeranz are in settlement on a minor league deal, as beforehand reported by Aram Leighton of Simply Baseball. The deal presumably contains an invitation to main league Spring Coaching.
Pomeranz, 36, is a veteran of 11 MLB seasons however hasn’t throw a pitch within the majors since 2021. The lefty was usually a strong participant who swung between the again of the rotation and bullpen within the early a part of his profession, typically garnering strong ends in reduction however lackluster numbers within the rotation. Throughout the primary eight seasons of his MLB profession, Pomeranz pitched to a 3.92 ERA (110 ERA+) with a 4.14 FIP in 710 innings of labor break up between 122 begins and 74 reduction appearances. The beginning of the 2019 season was extra of the identical for Pomeranz, as he struggled in a swing function with the Giants. He posted a 5.68 ERA ERA with a 5.24 FIP in 77 2/3 innings of labor.
These lackluster numbers led San Francisco to deal the lefty to Milwaukee at that 12 months’s commerce deadline, and Milwaukee determined to maneuver Pomeranz to the bullpen full-time, changing him right into a excessive leverage reduction arm. The lefty regarded like a completely completely different participant down the stretch in 2019, dominating to the tune of a 2.39 ERA with a 2.68 FIP with an eye-popping 45% strikeout charge. That stellar efficiency earned Pomeranz loads of curiosity in free company that winter, and previous to the 2020 season he signed with the Padres on a four-year deal value $34MM that ran via the 2020-23 seasons. Pomeranz continued to dominate when wholesome sufficient to take the mound for San Diego, with an unimaginable 1.62 ERA and a couple of.75 FIP to go together with a 33.7% strikeout charge throughout the lifetime of that contract.
Sadly for Pomeranz, nevertheless, he managed simply 44 1/3 innings of labor over the lifetime of the contract as a result of shoulder, forearm, and elbow accidents. After not pitching within the majors throughout the 2022 or ’23 seasons, Pomeranz returned to the free agent market and caught on with the Angels and Dodgers on minor league offers however was unable to crack both L.A. roster. Finally he earned an enormous league alternative with the Giants in Might, however lasted just some days on the membership’s roster earlier than being designated for project with out making an look. In complete, he made simply eight appearances at Triple-A for the Dodgers this previous season, struggling to a 6.00 ERA however flashing a superb 37.8% strikeout charge.
That huge strikeout stuff clearly caught the eye of the Mariners, who’ve now picked him up as a no-risk flier who may nonetheless contribute to the membership’s late-inning combine if he can lastly get wholesome sufficient to make it again to the majors. The Mariners have a powerful bullpen combine that features Andres Munoz, Matt Brash, Collin Snider, and Gregory Santos however lacks a real back-end choice from the left-hand aspect.
