Dodgers Linked to Free Agent Reliever Drew Pomeranz
Drew Pomeranz has had one of the most up and down careers of anyone in Major League Baseball at the moment. He went from a top prospect, being drafted fifth overall in the 2010 MLB Draft by the Cleveland Indians to being traded all around the league. He made his MLB debut with the Colorado Rockies and made 30 starts for them to the tune of a 5.20 ERA and 1.54 WHIP — don’t forget it was Coors. He was then traded.
In 2014, he then headed to the Oakland A’s — traded for former Dodger Brett Anderson — where he seemed to begin to deliver on his first-round promise. In 2015 he was once again traded, this time to the San Diego Padres. 2016 was the year of Pomeranz as he was named an All-Star for the first time in his career. He average well over a strikeout per inning on the way to an excellent 3.32 ERA.
At the 2016 trade deadline, he was shipped to the Boston Red Sox where things seemed to fall apart for the left-hander. As a member of the Sox, Pomeranz tossed over 300 innings, but posted a 4.24 ERA and 1.45 WHIP.
In the off-season of 2019, the Giants signed him and it was not pretty for both sides. However, once Pomeranz was thrown in the bullpen and traded to the Milwaukee Brewers at the deadline, his career saw a full-blown resurgence. He now enters this off-season as one of the most heralded assets on the market. Across 25 appearances with Milwaukee, Pomeranz struck out 45 batters in 26 1/3 innings with a 2.39 ERA. He also saw an increase in fastball velocity. At times, he looked un-hittable.
Now, the Dodgers seem to be interested.
According to Eno Sarris of The Athletic, the Dodgers represent a near-perfect fit for the left-hander.
Here are seven mid-level free agents I like, how much they might get, and where they might end up. https://t.co/6Mkm9evZlr
— Eno Sarris (@enosarris) November 7, 2019
Here is what Sarris had to say regarding Pomeranz:
In September, Pomeranz averaged 84 on his curveball, making his yakker look something like the one thrown by Gerrit Cole or Tyler Glasnow. The lefty was also sitting 95 on his fastball in the playoffs, and it’s fair to think he might be able to show that kind of velo over a full year if he prepared to be a reliever and a reliever alone.
What makes him even more intriguing than that combination of a hard, riding fastball and a hard, dropping curveball is that he might be able to go more than an inning in his first year out of the ‘pen. This is the kind of glue that every bullpen is looking for, and therefore the price that Pomeranz gets, in the end, will raise eyebrows on both ends — it’ll be cheap for a lock-down late-inning reliever who struck out nearly half the batters he saw in the second half, and it’ll be more than Pomeranz has signed for in the past.
Sarris is not the only one to bring up the Pomeranz to Los Angeles speculation as MLB Trade Rumors also picked Pomeranz to go to the Dodgers on a two-year, $16 million pact:
2019-20 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions https://t.co/Ued1iHBkMS pic.twitter.com/Xnga9s38OP
— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) November 5, 2019
Overall
The Dodgers might find their high-leverage left-hander in Drew Pomeranz. While the name might not make your ears perk up, Pomeranz has changed as a pitcher and might be pretty reliable with whoever signs him.
It seems one area of player development that has lagged behind is in determining if a pitcher will be best as a starter or a reliever. For years relievers were just pitchers who were not good enough to be starters. Now they’ve advanced to if a pitcher has only 2 good pitches then he’s a reliever.
But there have been mediocre pitchers who ended up being really good relievers. Pomeranz, Gagne and Maeda are good examples. And they often use 3 or 4 pitches.
I’d like your comments on this. Can player development early on spot reliever and closer skill sets? Is there a better way to develop a closer than just hit and miss? Is it possible some team figures this out and crafts elite closets in the late rounds?
My rule if I was a GM is that no relievers get more than a 1 year deal. Seems to me they’re all up and down from one year to the next. We don’t need another Kelly deal.
He doesn’t have enough of an injury history to really whet the Dodgers appetite.
A Lefty Bullpen guy makes sense. The Dodger Farm Team has several guys almost ready like Allie, Sborz and possibly depending on who is in starting rotation May and Gonsilin.
But a Lefty at 95 with a hard curve 11 mph slower makes a lot of sense.
I am not a believer in the team signing Rendon or Cole. I do think they will go after Ryu aggressively.
Lol I knew it. I predicted Chris Martin Pomeranz and Hill as Friedman’s big splash watch it happen now
Nothing really new here, as the Dodgers are yet again ‘linked’ to another FA. I am good if Dodgers get Pomeranz but we know that the real odds of signing are basically slim and none.
How about signing both Cole and Strasburg? And I don’t want to hear any fake payroll issue. With all of the money they rob from fans and that tv deal they can afford to be over for years. A playoff rotation of Cole, Strasburg, Buehler, and either Gonsolin or May would be the best in all of baseball which the Dodgers need to once and for all start focusing on being, ALL of baseball not just the the NL. Kershaw can be the 5th guy during the season and take a hike during the playoffs
Nobody robs a dime from fans. Fans willingly pay the price of admission. If you care not to support the team financially, that is well within your right.