Cubs hope Pomeranz is ready to help bullpen
The Cubs' quest for a reliable bullpen brought two new names into the mix Tuesday.
The Cubs traded for veteran left-handed reliever Drew Pomeranz, who had been pitching for Seattle's Triple-A team. They also called up right-hander Gavin Hollowell and sent Jordan Wicks down to Iowa.
“I think we'll continue to shuffle the bullpen,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said. “I think that's the right thing to do. We have a number of guys throwing well, but the other guys we'll continue to shuffle and hopefully we'll hit on some.”
Pomeranz, 36, hasn't pitched in the majors since 2021. He kept an ERA below 2.00 over a two-year span with the Padres, then needed surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon. He didn't pitch in 2022, had a cleanup procedure done in May of 2023 and threw just 6 innings in the minors that year. He logged 9 innings for the Dodgers' Triple-A team last season.
The No. 5 overall draft pick by Cleveland in 2010, Pomeranz has been in the majors for 11 years with six different teams. He spent part of 2019 playing for Craig Counsell in Milwaukee.
“We think he's headed in the right direction with his stuff,” Counsell said. “His velocity is on a good trajectory right now. When he's had the better fastball velocity, he's had success in this league. We've been on a search for left-handed depth.”
According to Statcast, the Pomeranz four-seam has averaged around 93.5 miles per hour in his last three outings with Tacoma. He's not with the major-league club yet and may spend time in Iowa.
The 6-foot-7 Hollowell, 27, made one appearance for the Cubs last season and spent two years with Colorado. He had a 4.26 ERA at Iowa.
Shaw hacks
Jed Hoyer had this to say about Matt Shaw, the rookie third baseman who was sent down to Triple-A Iowa after a slow start at the plate:
“It's really hard to work on mechanical things here against major-league pitching,” Hoyer said. “There's both the mental reset part of it and also the physical part where he can go down and work on things that are hard to work on here. This is not a place to tinker, for a young player. Obviously, we want him to be our third baseman and we want him to be back up here.”
Shaw got a hit Tuesday, but is 1-for-10 at the plate since joining Iowa.
Assad rehabs
In his second rehab start for Iowa on Tuesday, Javier Assad pitched 4 innings, with 3 walks, 3 hits, 2 earned runs and 5 strikeouts against Louisville.
Keegan Thompson followed Assad to the mound and gave up an earned run for the first time in 6 appearances this season.