It came as a surprise when the Chicago Cubs traded for relief pitcher Drew Pomeranz in April. His success has been even more unlikely, given his career trajectory.
Pomeranz, 36, hadn’t pitched in a Major League Baseball game since 2021 with the San Diego Padres. From 2022-25, he bounced around the minor leagues as part of the Padres, Dodgers and Seattle Mariners organizations, totaling just 29 innings across part of four seasons.
Despite allowing five earned runs in 9.2 innings to begin the 2025 season with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, the Cubs must have seen something in the left-hander, when they traded cash to Seattle for him. Because as of Friday, Pomeranz is the only pitcher in MLB with zero earned runs allowed in at least 20 innings.
He’s made 24 appearances for the Cubs, totaling 21.2 innings, 13 hits, one unearned run, zero earned runs, six walks and 20 strikeouts. That comes out to a 0.00 ERA and an 0.87 WHIP.
Pomeranz was an All-Star in 2016, when he pitched for the San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox. He posted a 3.32 ERA across 170.2 innings that season. That was part of a two-year run in which he was worth 7.6 wins above replacement, per Baseball Reference.
But that was followed by 2018 and 2019 seasons with ERAs of 6.08 and 4.85, respectively. He was moved to the bullpen full-time in 2020 and 2021, and it was no sure thing that his major league career would continue past that.
That’s made his success in 2025 an incredible comeback story, one that’s even a bit surprising for Pomeranz.
“I don’t know what I expected this year,” Pomeranz said in an article by The Athletic. “But it’s been amazing. It’s exactly what I wanted. The feeling, these situations. I love it. High-leverage, that’s what we’re here for. You’re up for it, your body is going. It’s awesome. If you don’t like it, you’re in the wrong place.”