SF Giants sign Drew Pomeranz, out of MLB since 2021, to boost bullpen
Pomeranz, 35, hasn't appeared in an MLB game since undergoing flexor tendon surgery in August 2021.
NEW YORK — The veritable rainbow of assorted team-issued shirts, shorts, spikes and other equipment that populated the newest locker in the Giants’ clubhouse Friday afternoon might as well have told the story of Drew Pomeranz’s arduous past few years.
The brown and yellow of the Padres, the last major-league team for whom he appeared in a game.
The red of the Angels, who released him at his request after nine appearances this spring, as he put it, “probably to be like, ‘Is this guy broken or not?’”
The one hue considered colōris non grata represented his last stop, where he was when he received a call from his agent telling him there was a team willing to give him another major-league opportunity for the first time since 2021, before undergoing flexor tendon surgery the complications of which sent him into a continuous cycle of rehabilitation.
Pomeranz, 35, signed a major-league deal to reunite with the Giants and manager Bob Melvin, and was activated before the opening game of their series at Citi Field to provide some relief for a bullpen that, in Melvin’s words, “been pretty beat up here as of late.”
Rookie right-hander Mason Black was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento and catcher Jakson Reetz was designated for assignment in corresponding moves.
“I got wind of it and I was like, ‘Make it happen now. I’m there. I don’t care. I’ll drive there if they want me to,’” Pomeranz said. “I had anyone on my radar. I was trying to pitch in the big leagues. I was chasing this for – I haven’t pitched in the big leagues since August 2021 — so I was determined not to give up. I’d go anywhere.”
Pomeranz was granted his release by the Dodgers on Thursday, and arrived in New York from Oklahoma City, the home of their Triple-A affiliate, at about 2:30 a.m. Friday. The Dodger-blue cleats didn’t last one hour in his locker. One clubhouse attendant joked of setting them aflame.
In eight appearances at Triple-A, Pomeranz had a 6.00 ERA but had limited opponents to two runs over his past seven outings and struck out 14 batters while issuing only one walk over nine innings. His last outing came against the River Cats in Sacramento, where he fanned five over two scoreless innings.
“I was hoping it was someone who I knew who would give me a shot just because they know me,” he said. “You see all the stuff I’ve been through the last few years, I don’t blame teams for overlooking (me). The Angels definitely ran me through it this spring. But I just kept pushing.”
Since his half-season stint in San Francisco, going 2-9 with a 5.68 ERA, Pomeranz reinvented himself as a shutdown reliever and was rewarded with a four-year, $34 million contract from the Padres after the 2019 season. He lived up to the deal, with a 1.62 ERA in 41 appearances, until his elbow began to bark in an Aug. 10 game against Marlins. He recorded two outs and earned a hold in what could have been his final big-league game.
The original nine-month timetable for the operation on his flexor tendon turned into three years. He went on three rehab assignments and suffered setbacks each time. The contract he signed with San Diego expired after last season, and he took a minor-league deal with the Angels on the first day of spring training.
“I basically took the first offer I got,” he said. “I didn’t want to just hang out. I didn’t care about contracts or whatever; I just wanted to play baseball.”
All around him, he said, people asked, “You’ve got 10 years (of service time), why are you still playing?” He was an All-Star and a World Series champion who had appeared in nearly 300 games over the course of a long and successful career.
“I just need to finish on a good note,” he told them. “Whatever that is.”
Pomeranz’s guess is as good as anybody’s.
Since Opening Day, the Giants have asked their relievers to cover more innings (200) than all but two other teams (Miami and Oakland). The burden on the bullpen only increased on the first leg of their road trip as the Giants played extra innings in consecutive games while getting less than four innings from their starter in either contest.
“We were looking for some experience and a major-league arm, especially from the left side, today to give us a little bit of break for the bullpen,” said Melvin, who managed him Oakland and San Diego. “He’s at a point in time of his career where he could say, ‘You know what, I’m done.’ But he doesn’t. He still wants to play and he still wants to pitch. He’s had a nice career when healthy while doing it. It’s nice to have him here.”
It’s not clear what the Giants’ plans for the veteran reliever are after Friday’s game.
Pomeranz will always know that he made it back.
“Finally,” he said, “back here today.
“It’s what I’ve been chasing the past few years. I was so close. And there was just something that would always happen.”