Well, this one didn’t work out for the Chicago Cubs. Veteran pitcher Drew Pomeranz was brought back into the fold after he was let go by the Los Angeles Angels earlier this season, but unfortunately there was no happy reunion with the Cubs.
Prior to Monday’s series opener against the Detroit Tigers at Wrigley Field, the Cubs designated Pomeranz for assignment. The 37-year-old pitched in six games for the Cubs, getting activated on July 3 after he made a couple of appearances in Triple-A with the Iowa Cubs. The left-handed reliever made his debut with the Cubs this year against the St. Louis Cardinals, a scoreless inning of work in mop-up duty, but then he got knocked around pretty good.
Pomeranz allowed five runs on two home runs in his next four outings. Overall, the lefty only had one strikeout and four walks in 5.2 innings with the Cubs.
Unfortunately, the Cubs couldn’t catch lightning in a bottle two years in a row with Pomeranz, who was one of the team’s best bullpen arms in 2025.
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(Previous Update)
The Chicago Cubs have optioned left-handed pitcher Jordan Wicks back to Triple-A after he recorded a three-inning save in Wednesday’s 23-3 whomping of the San Diego Padres. The new fresh arm in the bullpen will be an old friend as veteran left-handed reliever Drew Pomeranz has been added to the active roster.
Pomeranz, 37, was a standout arm for the 2025 Cubs’ bullpen, and he was honestly one of the biggest surprises of the year on the team. The lefty was first acquired in a small trade with the Seattle Mariners in April, and although he was used in low-leverage situations at the beginning of his Cubs tenure, Pomeranz eventually became one of Craig Counsell’s most trusted relief pitchers.
In his first MLB season since 2021, Pomeranz recorded a 2.17 ERA in 49.2 innings. He had an excellent 28.1 K% and was third on the team with 14 holds. Then, in the playoffs, Pomeranz pitched in six games and only gave up one hit in six innings, a solo home run in Game 5 of the NLDS against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Cubs decided not to bring him back in free agency, as Pomeranz signed with the Los Angeles Angels for $4 million. The 2026 season hasn’t been too kind for him, as Pomeranz was released on June 18 after recording a 5.01 ERA in 23.1 innings. The Cubs brought him back into the organization, signing the veteran pitcher to a minor league deal and officially adding Pomeranz to the Iowa Cubs roster at Triple-A this past weekend.
Pomeranz has made two appearances at Triple-A with Iowa: 2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K.
His walks increased, and the strikeouts decreased during his time with the Angels, but Pomeranz’s velocity remained the same as it was in 2025. So, it doesn’t seem to be anything physically wrong with the pitcher, which gives you some optimism that the Cubs can once again find a way to make Pomeranz effective on the mound.
The Cubs bullpen is without Daniel Palencia, Phil Maton, Hunter Harvey, and Hoby Milner, all of whom are on the injured list and were on the Opening Day roster. So, after a lot of bad injury luck so far in 2026, the Cubs are crossing their fingers that they can get some good luck with their in-season moves trying to save the pitching staff.
