The Chicago Cubs have brought back left-hander Drew Pomeranz on a minor league contract just weeks after the Los Angeles Angels cut him loose. The team never made a formal announcement, but Pomeranz toed the rubber for Triple-A Iowa on Sunday and threw a scoreless inning with two strikeouts and one walk.
This is the same guy who became one of Chicago’s most unexpected contributors in 2025. After not pitching in the majors since 2021, Pomeranz showed up and posted a 2.17 ERA over 57 appearances. He struck out 57 hitters in 49 2/3 innings and had a 28.1% strikeout rate. That’s not a fluke. That’s elite relief work from a pitcher who spent the previous three years barely able to get through a minor league rehab.
The Long Road Back
Pomeranz had flexor tendon surgery after 2021 and then needed another elbow cleanup procedure in 2023. From 2022 through 2024 he threw only 19 1/3 innings in the minors. The guy barely touched a mound in competition for roughly three years. Then he came back at age 36 and looked like a completely different pitcher.
That performance earned him a one-year, $4 million deal with the Angels last winter. But Anaheim didn’t get the same guy. Pomeranz struggled to a 5.01 ERA in 23 1/3 innings with a walk rate over 11% and a strikeout rate that dropped almost in half. The Angels designated him for assignment, then let him go.
Why Chicago Came Calling Again
The Cubs pitching staff has gotten decimated by injuries. Starters are out. Bullpen arms are limping. Chicago has been scraping together innings with cheap signings and internal options, and they need arms that can actually miss bats. Pomeranz, even at 37, showed last year he could do that.
His first outing in Iowa was just one scoreless inning, but it’s a start. If he can stay healthy and build on that, it’s not hard to see him back in a Cubs uniform before September. The team clearly knows what he looked like at his best in 2025. The question is whether that version of Pomeranz is still in there somewhere.
Leave a Comment