Drew Pomeranz

Dodgers Sign Drew Pomeranz To Minor League Deal

By Darragh McDonald | March 29, 2024 at 2:50pm CDT

The Dodgers have signed left-hander Drew Pomeranz to a minor league deal, per Alex Freedman, the broadcaster/communications director for Triple-A Oklahoma City. The lefty has been assigned to OKC.

Pomeranz, 35, is looking to get back to the majors after two lost seasons. He signed a minor league deal with the Angels this winter but was released at the end of camp, either because he triggered an opt-out or the club simply let him go when they decided he wasn’t going to break camp with the club. Either way, he hit the open market again and now has a new deal with the Dodgers.

The lefty had once been one of the most dominant relievers in the league. The Brewers acquired him at the 2019 deadline and moved him from the rotation to the bullpen, at which point Pomeranz fired off 26 1/3 innings with a 2.39 earned run average. He struck out a tremendous 45% of batters faced in that time, while also keeping his walk rate to 8% and getting grounders on 46.8% of balls in play.

The Padres decided to make a bet on that breakout, signing him to a four-year deal with a $34MM guarantee. For the first half of that deal, it looked like a brilliant move for the Friars. Over 2020 and 2021, Pomeranz made 47 appearances with a tiny ERA of 1.62. His 11.4% walk rate was on the high side but he punched out 33.7% of batters faced and got grounders at a 45.8% clip, racking up four saves and 22 holds.

But he required surgery for a torn flexor tendon in August of 2021 and hasn’t been back on a mound for a big league game since then. Over the intervening years, he has repeatedly hit setbacks in his attempts to get back in action. He underwent a “cleanup surgery” on his elbow in May of last year and was able to go on a rehab assignment towards the end of the season, but only tossed 5 2/3 innings on the farm before being shut down again.

In Spring Training with the Angels this year, he made nine appearances, striking out six batters while giving out three walks and allowing eight hits and five earned runs. That’s not nearly as impressive as his previous results but it’s a small sample and it’s fair to expect some rust after such a long layoff. The main thing is that he appears to be the healthiest he has been in almost three years.

The Dodgers are generally unafraid to take chances on talented pitchers trying to get over significant injuries and there’s effectively no risk on a minor deal like this. For Pomeranz, he can utilize the tools of an organization that has a strong track record for helping pitchers maximize their results, which could perhaps benefit both player and club if Pomeranz can stay on the hill and get in a nice groove.

Angels Release Drew Pomeranz

By Mark Polishuk | March 24, 2024 at 3:34pm CDT

The Angels announced that left-hander Drew Pomeranz has been released from his minor league contract with the team. Pomeranz and Jake Marisnick were two Article XX(B) free agents who had the ability to opt out of their minor league deals on Friday if they weren’t added to the Angels’ Opening Day roster, and while Pomeranz is moving on, Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group writes that Marisnick won’t make the team but isn’t exercising his opt-out clause.

Pomeranz hasn’t pitched in a big league game since August 2021, as the southpaw underwent a flexor tendon surgery that has essentially put his career on hold. Pomeranz has tossed only 10 1/3 minor league innings over the 2022-23 seasons due to a number of setbacks, including an unspecified “cleanup surgery” in his throwing elbow last May. His eight innings of relief work in the Angels’ spring camp actually represents one of his longer stretches of pitching in a while, and Pomeranz posted a 5.63 ERA over those eight frames and nine appearances.

The Padres signed Pomeranz to a four-year, $34MM deal in the 2019-20 offseason, betting that his impressive results as a full-time relief pitcher late in the 2019 season with the Brewers would continue in the coming years. Pomeranz had a 1.62 ERA over 44 1/3 innings up until the time of his flexor surgery, cutting short what seemed to be a very promising new chapter of his career as a bullpen weapon.

The four-year contract expired at the end of the 2023 campaign, putting Pomeranz back onto the open market and landing in Los Angeles on a minors contract. Now entering his age-35 season, nobody would blame Pomeranz if he chose to call it a career in the wake of so many injury woes, though it would be equally unsurprising if he continued to seek out another minor league deal if he is finally feeling healthy for the first time in years. Given his past pedigree, another club could well bring him into the fold on a minors contract in order to see what the left-hander still has in the tank.

31 Veterans With Opt-Out Opportunities Looming This Week

By Steve Adams | March 20, 2024 at 5:21pm CDT

One of the provisions in that 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement is uniform opt-out opportunities for Article XX(B) free agents on minor league deals. An Article XX(B) free agent is one with at least six years of service time who finished the previous season on a major league roster or injured list. Any such player who signs a minor league deal more than ten days prior to Opening Day can opt out of that deal at three points if they haven’t been added to the 40-man roster: five days before Opening Day, May 1 and June 1.

The first uniform opt-out date on this year’s calendar falls Friday at 1pm CT. Any player can trigger his out clause at that point, and the team will subsequently be given a 48-hour window to either add him to the roster or release him. With many clubs around the league dealing with spring injuries, some of these players should be able to find opportunities elsewhere if they can’t find it with their current organization. Their current clubs can prevent them from opting out by giving them a roster spot, but that may involve cutting someone else.

Angels: OF Jake Marisnick, LHP Drew Pomeranz

Marisnick, 33 this month, is a right-handed-hitting fourth outfielder with a plus glove and questionable bat. He can hold his own against right-handed pitching (career .237/.293/.417, 93 wRC+) but is typically overmatched by righties (.223/.274/.365, 74 wRC+). He’s having a huge spring, but the Angels already have Taylor Ward, Mike Trout, Mickey Moniak, Aaron Hicks and Jo Adell on the 40-man roster.

The 35-year-old Pomeranz was a good starter from 2016-17 and a dominant reliever from 2019-21, but he didn’t pitch in 2022-23 due to arm injuries. He’s pitched 6 2/3 innings with the Angels this spring with middling results.

Blue Jays: 3B/2B Eduardo Escobar, 1B Joey Votto

A poor season between the Mets and Angels last year set the stage for the 35-year-old Escobar to take a minor league deal. He’s long been a productive MLB hitter and even topped 30 homers back in 2019, but Escobar’s now in his mid-30s and struggling through an ugly spring while trying to win a spot in a crowded infield mix also featuring Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Santiago Espinal, Cavan Biggio, Ernie Clement and Davis Schneider.

Votto, 40, has been connected the Blue Jays seemingly forever due to his Canadian roots. He finally suited up for the Jays after agreeing to a minor league deal and homered in his first at-bat of camp. He’s had a lackluster showing at the plate in each of the past two MLB seasons, however.

Cubs: 1B/OF Garrett Cooper, RHP Carl Edwards Jr., OF David Peralta

An underrated hitter for years in Miami, Cooper slashed .274/.350/.444 in nearly 1300 plate appearances from 2019-22 before a poorly timed down showing in 2023’s walk year. He’s hitting quite well in spring training, and the Cubs don’t have a proven option at first base — though they’re understandably high on 26-year-old trade acquisition Michael Busch.

Edwards had a nice 2022 season with the Nats and posted a solid ERA in 2023 but did so with dismal K-BB numbers. He’s competing for a spot in an uncharacteristically crowded Cubs bullpen and could be squeezed out. The 32-year-old pitched for the Cubs from 2015-19, so Chicago brass knows him well. From 2022-23 in D.C., he posted a 3.07 ERA but a middling 20% strikeout rate against a 10.5% walk rate.

Peralta, 36, has a trio of hits and a walk in ten plate appearances this spring. He was an above-average hitter with the D-backs every season from 2017-20 but has been less consistent of late. He’s a left-handed hitter who’s long had glaring platoon splits and is limited to the outfield corners.

Diamondbacks: SS Elvis Andrus

Andrus is 35 but can still pick it at shortstop or second base. His once above-average speed has faded to the 30th percentile of MLB players, per Statcast, but his range at short remains excellent. Andrus hit .251/.304/.358 (81 wRC+) for the White Sox in 2023 and only has one year of above-average offense (2022) in the past six seasons.

Guardians: RHP Carlos Carrasco

Old friend Cookie Carrasco is fighting for the fifth spot in the Guardians’ rotation, and news of Gavin Williams’ season-opening stint on the injured list could further open the door for the 36-year-old (37 on Thursday) to make the team. Carrasco was torched for a 6.80 ERA with the 2023 Mets. He allowed 1.80 homers per nine frames through 90 innings, with alarming batted-ball metrics (91.5 mph average exit velocity, 48.2% hard-hit rate, 10.7% barrel rate). He was a solid mid-rotation arm as recently as 2022, when he tossed 152 innings of 3.97 ERA ball with sharp strikeout and walk rates.

Marlins: C Curt Casali

The veteran Casali has batted .201/.311/.315 over the past three big league seasons — a 78 wRC+ in 503 plate appearances. The 35-year-old is off to a rough start in camp and is a long shot to unseat defensive-minded Nick Fortes or Christian Bethancourt, both of whom are already on the 40-man roster.

Mets: 1B/DH Ji Man Choi

From 2017-22, Choi hit .254/.363/.465 (130 wRC+) against right-handed pitching. He walked at a 14.4% clip when holding the platoon advantage and fanned at a higher-than-average but still-manageable 24.1% rate. Lefties have always had Choi’s number, however, and his overall production cratered in 2023 while he dealt with Achilles and ribcage injuries. He’s fighting for a bench spot in New York alongside DJ Stewart and others.

Nationals: RHP Matt Barnes, OF Eddie Rosario, OF Jesse Winker

Barnes was an All-Star closer with the Red Sox in 2021 and briefly one of the game’s most dominant relievers, fanning more than 40% of his opponents for the bulk of that season. He wore down beginning in August and hasn’t been the same since a hip injury. Barnes’ velocity and strikeouts were way down in 2023 before he underwent season-ending surgery. He should have a good chance to win a spot in a Nationals bullpen that has little established talent.

Rosario and Winker are both left-handed-hitting outfielders who are best deployed in left field — with Winker having a particularly shaky defensive reputation. Winker is the younger of the two at 30 years old (to Rosario’s 32). Winker was quietly one of the most productive hitters in baseball against right-handed pitching for much of his time in Cincinnati, but knee and neck surgery in October 2022 look to have taken their toll on him. Rosario was the far more productive hitter in 2023. There may not be room for both veterans on the Washington roster. Winker has been in camp longer and been more productive in their small samples.

Orioles: 2B Kolten Wong

The Orioles seem to bring in a veteran infielder coming off a down season almost every year. It’s Wong’s turn in 2023. The 33-year-old was one of the game’s worst hitters in ’23, slashing just .183/.256/.263 in 250 plate appearances between the Mariners and Dodgers. That was beyond out of character for Wong, who’d been an average or better hitter in five of the past six seasons. If the O’s don’t want to rush Jackson Holliday or Coby Mayo, Wong could win a spot on the roster — but he hasn’t hit that well in camp so far.

Pirates: RHP Chase Anderson

It’s been five years since Anderson’s last solid season in a big league rotation, but the well-liked veteran continues to get work each season. From 2020-23, he’s pitched to a 6.19 ERA in 192 MLB frames — including a 5.42 mark in 86 1/3 innings last year (mostly with the Rockies). Anderson doesn’t miss many bats, but he has good command and is having a nice spring with the Pirates. He’s competing with Luis Ortiz, Jared Jones, Roansy Contreras, Domingo German and others for one of two generally open rotation spots in Pittsburgh.

Rangers: INF Matt Duffy, RHP Shane Greene, RHP Jose Urena

A contact-oriented hitter who can play all over the infield, the 33-year-old Duffy faces an uphill battle with Josh Smith, Ezequiel Duran and Justin Foscue all on the 40-man roster ahead of him. Nathaniel Lowe will open the season on the injured list, but that’ll likely work to Jared Walsh’s benefit more than Duffy.

Greene, 35, is a former All-Star closer/setup man who peaked with the Tigers and Braves from 2017-20. He’s thrown just three innings in each of the past two MLB seasons but also turned in strong numbers with the Cubs in Triple-A last year.

The 32-year-old Urena made five dismal starts for the Rockies early in the 2023 season and five solid ones for the White Sox late in the season. He also pitched well for Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate. A solid arm for the Marlins in 2017-18, Urena has a 5.50 ERA in 350 1/3 MLB frames dating back to 2019. He’s had a nice spring and could be a depth piece for an injury-plagued Rangers rotation.

Rays: RHP Jake Odorizzi

Odorizzi signed last week and will look to get back on track after a shoulder injury cost him the 2023 season. With the exception of an injury-wrecked 2020 season, he’s been a dependable five-inning starter dating back to 2014 (3.98 ERA in 1216 innings). The Rays’ pitching staff is dealing with plenty of injuries, and Odorizzi should be an option for the Rays early in the season.

Red Sox: 1B C.J. Cron, RHP Michael Fulmer, C Roberto Perez, LHP Joely Rodriguez

Cron has four seasons of 25-plus homers under his belt and was consistently an above-average hitter from 2014-22. Injuries tanked his 2023 season, but he has a strong track record of hitting for power — with largely even platoon splits. He’d make a nice right-handed complement to Triston Casas and/or Masataka Yoshida at first base and designated hitter, providing some insurance against an injury to either.

Perez is an all-glove backup who’s never hit much outside the juiced ball season in 2019, when he popped 24 of his 55 career homers. The Sox figure to go with Reese McGuire and Connor Wong behind the plate, making him a long shot to land a roster spot.

Rodriguez signed a big league deal with the Red Sox prior to the 2023 season but only pitched 11 innings due to injury. He’s having a decent spring training — two runs on nine hits and three walks with nine strikeouts in seven innings — and has a good chance to win a spot in a patchwork Red Sox bullpen. If not, his ability to miss bats and pile up grounders would likely draw interest elsewhere.

Fulmer won’t pitch in 2024 after undergoing surgery last summer. His minor league deal is a two-year contract that stretches into 2025. The two sides knew this going into the arrangement and there’s no reason to expect he’ll opt out.

Royals: RHP Tyler Duffey

Duffey was a mainstay in the division-rival Twins’ bullpen and was a high-end setup option at his peak in 2019-21, posting a 2.89 ERA across 144 frames while fanning 29.8% of his opponents. His results slipped in 2022 as he lost some life on his fastball, and he pitched just two MLB frames with the Cubs in 2023. Duffey recently had a procedure to remove a cancerous mole from his shoulder that understandably halted his baseball activity for a bit. He’s hopeful he’ll pitch again this spring, and while the larger takeaway is relief that the melanoma was discovered and quickly treated, his track record could also give him a shot to crack the Royals’ bullpen early in the season.

White Sox: RHP Jesse Chavez, RHP Brad Keller, RHP Dominic Leone, 3B/1B Mike Moustakas, OF Kevin Pillar, RHP Bryan Shaw

Chavez, 40, has been excellent with the Braves in each of the past three seasons but struggled in stints with the Cubs and Angels. He’s having a tough spring with the White Sox but carries a 2.81 ERA in his past 137 2/3 MLB frames, spanning the 2021-23 seasons.

Keller has spent his entire big league career with the Royals but saw his time in Kansas City come to a rough ending. After a three-year run as a solid starter, Keller struggled in three subsequent seasons, culminating in an IL stint for symptoms indicative of thoracic outlet syndrome. He hasn’t pitched in an official spring game for the White Sox.

Leone struggled late in the 2023 season but has a cumulative 3.38 ERA in 157 innings over the past three seasons. He’s having a solid spring training, has late-inning experience, and seems like a decent bet to win a spot in a White Sox bullpen that’s been completely torn down since last summer.

Moustakas has turned in three straight below-average seasons at the plate and is struggling again with the White Sox in camp (.167/.268/.278 in 41 plate appearances). The Sox have Yoan Moncada and Andrew Vaughn at the corners, plus Gavin Sheets as a lefty-swinging first base option (and corner outfielder) off the bench. Moose seems like a long shot to make the club.

Pillar would give the Sox a right-handed complement to lefty-hitting corner outfielders Andrew Benintendi and Dominic Fletcher. He’s 35 and no longer the plus-plus defensive center fielder he once was but could give them some insurance for Luis Robert Jr. in center as well. He hit .228/.248/.416 with nine homers in 206 plate appearances for the Braves last year.

Shaw pitched 45 2/3 innings for the Sox last year and delivered a respectable 4.14 ERA in that time. His production has tailed off substantially since his days as a consistent setup presence in the Cleveland bullpen — evidenced by a 5.07 ERA over his past six seasons. He’s been tagged for a dozen earned runs in 7 1/3 spring frames but does have 10 strikeouts.

Angels Sign Drew Pomeranz To Minor League Deal

By Darragh McDonald | February 14, 2024 at 10:29am CDT

Feb. 14: The Angels announced their minor league deal with Pomeranz this morning. He’s in camp as a non-roster invitee.

Feb. 13: The Angels are nearing a minor league deal with left-hander Drew Pomeranz, reports Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. The southpaw would be invited to major league camp if the deal becomes official.

Pomeranz, 35, spent many years as a quality starting pitcher in the major leagues. As his results started fading, he transitioned to the bullpen and seemed to be sliding into a nice second act as an elite reliever. But he has lost the past two seasons due to injuries and it’s unknown how much he can provide going forward.

In both 2016 and 2017, he tossed over 170 innings with matching ERAs of 3.32 in those seasons. But he got lit up in 2018, with his ERA finishing at 6.08 just as he was about to hit the open market for the first time. He settled for a modest one-year, $1.5MM deal with the Giants and had a 5.68 ERA as he was flipped to the Brewers at the 2019 deadline.

Milwaukee moved him to the bullpen which seemed to be a revelation for the lefty. He tossed 26 1/3 innings after the deal with a 2.39 ERA. He struck out an incredible 45% of batters faced while walking just 8% and kept 46.8% of balls in play on the ground.

The Padres believed in that mini breakout enough to give Pomeranz a four-year, $34MM guarantee going into 2020. That gamble seemed to be paying off for a while, as Pomeranz made 20 relief appearances in 2020 with a 1.45 ERA and another 27 in 2021 with a 1.75 ERA. He struck out 33.7% of batters faced over those two years and had a 45.8% ground ball rate. The 11.4% walk rate was on the high side but he was nonetheless one of the most dominant relievers in the league for a time.

But in August of 2021, he underwent surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon and hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since. At various times throughout 2022 and 2023, there were reports of him ramping up throwing, but each time saw him deal with some renewed soreness or inflammation that stopped his progression. He underwent “a cleanup surgery in his elbow” in May of last year and went out on a rehab assignment in August and September before being shut down again.

It’s hard to expect much after a couple of years completely lost to arm complications, but there’s no real risk for the Angels. They aren’t guaranteeing him a roster spot so they can bring him into camp and see how he looks. If he’s healthy and in good form, it’s a nice find, with no real downside if it doesn’t pan out.

The Halos have been very focused on their bullpen this offseason, signing Robert Stephenson, Matt Moore, Luis García, Adam Cimber and José Cisnero to major league deals. Pomeranz will come in as a non-roster wild card who could provide them with another boost if his arm allows.

Drew Pomeranz Shut Down For Remainder Of 2023 Season

By Mark Polishuk | September 19, 2023 at 6:26pm CDT

Left-hander Drew Pomeranz has been dealing with elbow discomfort while rehabbing with Triple-A El Paso, and Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune (X link) reports that Pomeranz’s season is officially over. The southpaw already hasn’t seen any action since pitching a scoreless inning for El Paso on September 3.

Pomeranz is heading for free agency, as his four-year, $34MM contract with the Padres is up after the season. The deal amounted to 44 1/3 relief innings for San Diego over the 2020-21 seasons, as Pomeranz hasn’t appeared in a Major League game since August 2021 due to flexor tendon surgery and then several setbacks due to lingering soreness. He underwent another elbow surgery back in May, and he only returned in late August to make four minor league appearances before being shut down yet again.

Pomeranz turns 35 in November, and between his age, two lost seasons, and a left elbow that still doesn’t seem to be 100 percent, it isn’t out of the question that the left-hander might consider retirement. The fifth overall pick of the 2010 draft and a veteran of 11 Major League seasons, Pomeranz battled to find consistency as a starter for much of his career, though his highs included an All-Star appearance in 2016 (during his first stint with the Padres). After he struggled as a starter in 2018-19, he seemingly found a second chapter as a full-time reliever with the Brewers during the 2019 campaign, which prompted San Diego to take the $34MM plunge on his services in the 2019-20 offseason.

Given his past track record, Pomeranz could still get some looks on a minor league contract this winter, provided he is able to get healthy. A no-risk minors deal leaves some wiggle room for a team if Pomeranz’s elbow problems do continue, and a new club could at least get some chance to evaluate Pomeranz first-hand to see if a comeback is possible or feasible.

Drew Pomeranz Undergoes Elbow Surgery

By Darragh McDonald | May 24, 2023 at 4:53pm CDT

Padres left-hander Drew Pomeranz underwent “a cleanup surgery in his elbow” yesterday, per AJ Cassavell of MLB.com, relaying word from manager Bob Melvin. It’s unknown how long this will keep him out of action but the skipper says they are still hopeful for him to return later in the season.

Although Melvin seems to be trying to downplay the procedure, which might well be minor, it’s notable that the lefty’s health is at the forefront yet again. Pomeranz is creeping up on two years since his last major league appearance, which was in August of 2021. It was at that point that he required surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his throwing arm. He was able to begin a rehab assignment one year after that procedure, heading out in August of last year. However, he was shut down due to continued soreness and missed the entire 2022 campaign.

Here in 2023, the club was optimistic about his return but he experienced more inflammation in Spring Training and began the season on the injured list. He began another rehab assignment in the middle of April but was shut down yet again after three appearances and transferred to the 60-day injured list.

It’s surely been a frustrating series of events for both Pomeranz and the team. After spending many years as a starter with mixed results, the southpaw seemed to thrive in a move to full-time relief work. In 2019, he had a 5.68 ERA with the Giants, working primarily out of the rotation. He was traded at the deadline to the Brewers who used him exclusively as a reliever, apart from one three-inning start. He had a 2.39 ERA with Milwaukee, striking out an incredible 45% of batters faced.

He reached free agency and the Padres took a chance on that bullpen breakout, signing Pomeranz to a four-year deal that guaranteed him $34MM. The gamble seemed to be paying off for a while, as he posted a combined 1.62 ERA between his 20 appearances in the shortened 2020 season and another 27 the year after. He walked 11.4% of batters faced in that time but stuck out 33.7% and also got grounders at a 45.8% rate.

Unfortunately, the latter half of the deal has been entirely wasted thus far, with Pomeranz missing the 2022 season and all of 2023 to this point. The Padres aren’t in desperate shape in terms of left-handed relief, as each of Josh Hader, Tim Hill and Tom Cosgrove are posting decent results to varying degrees. Nonetheless, it would surely be a welcome development if this recent procedure was able to help Pomeranz finally get over his ongoing arm troubles and get back into form. He’s making a salary of $8MM this year and is a free agent at season’s end.

Padres Select Drew Carlton

By Anthony Franco | May 15, 2023 at 6:51pm CDT

The Padres announced this evening they’ve selected reliever Drew Carlton onto the big league club. Southpaw Ryan Weathers was optioned to Triple-A El Paso in a corresponding move. San Diego transferred lefty Drew Pomeranz from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list to clear a 40-man roster spot.

Carlton is now in line to make his team debut. The 27-year-old inked a minor league contract with San Diego over the winter. He’d previously spent his entire career with the Tigers, including a pair of stints at the MLB level between 2021-22. Carlton got into nine games over those two seasons, throwing 12 1/3 innings. He allowed six runs (four earned) with eight strikeouts and four walks.

Those were decent results for a middle reliever, though Carlton didn’t overwhelm hitters. His fastball sat in the 90-91 MPH range and he generated swinging strikes at a modest 7.8% clip. The righty allowed a 4.78 ERA in spite of a strong 27.3% strikeout rate and excellent 4.5% walk percentage through 58 1/3 Triple-A innings last season. He became a minor league free agent after being outrighted from Detroit’s 40-man roster during the summer.

Since signing with San Diego, Carlton has been lights out in Triple-A. He’s allowed only four runs (two earned) in 16 innings. The Florida State product has punched out 18 against five walks and induced grounders on half the batted balls he’s allowed. He’ll return to the majors for a third consecutive year as a result. Carlton still has two minor league options remaining, so the Friars can freely send him back to Triple-A without putting him on waivers.

Weathers has started four of six outings at the major league level this season. He’s posted a 3.42 ERA but is only striking out hitters at a 15.2% clip over 23 2/3 innings. The Padres already have a starting staff of Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha and Blake Snell. They’ll keep Weathers working in a starting capacity in El Paso behind that group.

Pomeranz hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since undergoing flexor tendon surgery that ended his 2021 season. He’d been on a rehab assignment last month but shut things down for a couple weeks after feeling some arm discomfort. It doesn’t seem an especially concerning issue, as Pomeranz is already back out on a rehab stint with El Paso. He’ll need time to get back to complete game shape, though. His IL stint backdates to Opening Day and only officially rules him out until the final week of May. It was unlikely Pomeranz would’ve completed his rehab work before then regardless, so it’s mostly a procedural transaction.

Juan Soto Discusses Failed Extension With Nationals, Trade To Padres

By Darragh McDonald | April 19, 2023 at 12:46pm CDT

The Padres have remade their reputation in recent years, changing from a small market team to one of the heavy hitters that is seemingly in on every notable free agent and trade candidate. That included nabbing Juan Soto last year, arguably the highest profile deadline deal in recent baseball history. Players with that much talent, youth and years of control don’t usually become available, which made it a headline-grabbing frenzy when it actually did happen.

Soto recently spoke with Stephanie Apstein of Sports Illustrated and was quite candid about how he actually didn’t enjoy the process as much as he expected. The firestorm kicked off when it was reported in mid-July that Soto had rejected a $440MM extension offer from the Nationals, which is what led to him being available in trades. It seems the outfielder wasn’t happy that those extension talks got leaked. “I wanted to do it with the Nationals, but they just made it public,” he says. “I didn’t like that at all. I hated it. I told them we weren’t speaking anymore, because they just threw everything out there.”

Although a trade seemed inevitable at that time and Soto prepared himself for it, he admitted that it hurt him more than he expected when it finally became real. Nelson Cruz, then his teammate in Washington and now again in San Diego, had to console a tearful Soto and remind him he was going to a better situation. He says that his anxiety finally abated when he returned to Washington and got a standing ovation in Nationals Park. “I really felt relieved,” he says. “I could leave that in the past and focus on Cali.” The Friars ultimately qualified for the postseason, their first playoff appearance in a full season since 2006. They knocked off the Mets and the Dodgers before falling to the Phillies in the NLCS.

Another part of the Padres’ aggressiveness has been extending their incumbent players, with Manny Machado, Yu Darvish, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jake Cronenworth and Joe Musgrove all getting notable deals recently. It’s fair to assume they’d like to do the same with Soto, though we might not hear much about it, given his preferences. “If [the Padres can keep negotiations private], I can do it any time. I have no problem with it,” he says.

The news of him leaving nearly half a billion dollars on the table also caused a lot of stress in his inner circle, with Soto saying it put “all the fans, all the Dominicans, even my family against me.” It seemingly crept into the locker room as well. “A lot of teammates were like, ‘We respect your thinking, but that’s a lot of money,’” he says. “I’m like, ‘Guys, I’m trying to do what’s best for me and what’s best for my family.’ And you gotta go out there and perform. And you try to perform for guys that doubt you. And that’s one of the things I hated.”

The concern from those family members and teammates is presumably that Soto is taking a risk by leaving that kind of money on the table. There’s always a risk in any athlete turning down significant money, as an unexpected injury could then diminish their earning power. But Soto still has plenty of things working in his favor to get a huge payday. Since he rocketed to the majors at such a young age, he’s still only 24, younger than many top prospects who have yet to even debut. He’s slated for free agency after 2024, when he will have just turned 26 years old. This past offseason saw superstar players like Aaron Judge and Trea Turner get to $300MM and beyond, even though they were going into their age-31 and age-30 seasons, respectively. Soto is already getting $23MM this year and will get another raise via arbitration for 2024 before hitting the open market at an exceptionally young age. It’s seems well within the realm of possibility that he ends up getting more than what he walked away from.

Some Padre fans have expressed concern that Soto isn’t living up to the hype so far, as his production was a bit diminished after the trade and he’s off to a slow start here in 2023. However, the underlying numbers suggest he’s due for some positive regression. He still walked more than he struck out after coming to San Diego and the same is true again here this year. His Statcast page is still bright red, meaning there’s no reason to suspect his .185 batting average on balls in play so far this year will stay more than 100 points below his career BABIP of .306. Even with that terrible luck so far, his .175/.366/.365 batting line amounts to an above-average 106 wRC+. Once the baseball gods start smiling on him again, he should move closer to his career batting line of .283/.422/.521 and 152 wRC+.

Despite all the attention and the doubters, Soto maintains he’s in a good place. “I feel great right now,” he tells Apstein. “Forget about all this stuff. Now I’m focused on the San Diego Padres.” The club is out to a slow start, currently at 8-11, but once Soto’s fortunes change for the better, that should apply to the club as well.

Turning to other parts of the roster, the club will also be getting a boost to its rotation soon as Joe Musgrove is set to make his season debut on Saturday, per Dennis Lin of The Athletic. The righty suffered a fractured toe in a freak weight room accident back in February and has been working his way back to health since. He’s coming off arguably his best season yet, as he posted a 2.93 ERA over 30 starts last year, as well as a 2.89 ERA in three postseason starts. The club has been employing a six-man rotation recently and will have to decide who gets bumped to make room for Musgrove. Yu Darvish and Blake Snell are locks to stick, with one of Michael Wacha, Ryan Weathers, Seth Lugo or Nick Martinez in line for a move to the bullpen or the farm. Weathers is the only one of that group that can be optioned to the minors, though he also has a 2.81 ERA in the early going while Martinez and Wacha are at 5.60 and 6.06, respectively.

The bullpen could also be in line for a reinforcement in the near future, as lefty Drew Pomeranz started a rehab assignment last night. He tossed one inning for the Single-A Lake Elsinore Storm, getting a flyout, a groundout and a strikeout. Signed to a four-year, $34MM deal going into 2020, he posted a 1.45 ERA in the first year of the deal and a 1.75 in the second, striking out more than a third of batters faced in that time. Unfortunately, he required flexor tendon surgery in August of 2021 and hasn’t been on a big league mound since. Starting a rehab assignment now doesn’t necessarily mean a return is imminent, as he started a similar rehab stint in August of last year but renewed soreness shut him down. A full offseason didn’t even get him to 100%, as he dealt with inflammation during Spring Training and is only now properly ramping up. It’s hard to know what to expect from him at this point, but getting anywhere close to his excellent results from a few years ago would be most welcome.

And turning quickly to ownership, the club’s recent change in organizational attitude coincided with Peter Seidler purchasing a majority stake in the club in late 2020. It seems he plans on sticking around for a long time while continuing to run out a competitive roster. “There will never be another fire sale in San Diego, and I expect my family to own the franchise for another 50, 75 years,” he said at an event yesterday, per Evan Drellich of The Athletic. “Hopefully go for more, I’ll talk from the grave.”

California Notes: Walsh, Padres, Dahl, Engel, Cruz, Morejon, Pomeranz, A’s, Blackburn, Rucinski

By Mark Polishuk | April 9, 2023 at 10:09am CDT

Jared Walsh has yet to suit up for the Angels this season, as he has been on the 10-day injured list recovering from insomnia and recurring headaches. Manager Phil Nevin provided media (including MLB.com and J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group) with an update on Walsh’s condition, saying that “He’s doing okay. He feels like he’s making a lot of progress, getting some clarity on what’s going on.” The recovery process has included a two-week stint with a specialist in Utah, which has limited Walsh’s baseball-related training activity mostly to weekends with the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate in Salt Lake City.

Owing to the unpredictable nature of his problem, there isn’t yet a timeline for Walsh’s return, as Nevin noted that the first baseman will need some level of a rehab assignment or a ramp-up period before he gets onto the field. Walsh was already making a comeback from an injury-hampered 2022 season, as he struggled to a .215/.264/.374 slash line in 454 plate appearances before undergoing surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in September.

Padres Select Rougned Odor, Domingo Tapia

By Anthony Franco | March 30, 2023 at 11:53am CDT

The Padres announced a few transactions as they set their Opening Day roster. Rougned Odor and reliever Domingo Tapia both made the team, with San Diego formally selecting their contracts. The Friars also confirmed the previously reported addition of outfielder David Dahl to the 40-man. San Diego needed to create two 40-man vacancies. They’ve done so by designating righty Michel Báez for assignment and placing southpaw Adrián Morejón on the 60-day injured list with an elbow sprain.

Additionally, San Diego placed a handful of pitchers on the 15-day IL. Joe Musgrove, Robert Suarez, Drew Pomeranz and José Castillo will all start the season on the shelf.

Odor is entering his tenth season at the big league level. The longtime Ranger second baseman has bounced around the league over the past few seasons. He’s been a below-average hitter overall due to dismal on-base numbers but continued to draw interest thanks to some left-handed power. Odor appeared in 135 games for the Orioles last season, hitting 13 homers but posting just a .207/.275/.357 line in 472 plate appearances.

Signed to a minor league deal over the offseason, Odor impressed in Spring Training. He put together a .316/.422/.474 slash with a pair of homers in 38 at-bats. The career second baseman also saw some corner outfield action in exhibition play to broaden his defensive flexibility off the bench. He could join Dahl and Matt Carpenter in taking some right field work until Fernando Tatis Jr. returns from suspension.

Tapia, 31, inked a minor league deal over the winter. He threw 17 innings for the A’s last year, allowing 16 runs with more walks than strikeouts. While it wasn’t a particularly encouraging season, Tapia averaged around 98 MPH on his fastball and posted a 1.76 ERA in 30 2/3 innings with Triple-A Las Vegas. He nabs an Opening Day bullpen job in San Diego after tossing eight innings of two-run ball with 11 strikeouts and no walks this spring. Tapia still has a minor league option year remaining, so the Friars could bounce him between San Diego and Triple-A El Paso throughout the season.

Báez has pitched at the MLB level in three of the last four seasons. The bulk of that came in 2019, when he made 24 appearances. Báez pitched only twice in the majors last year. He threw 21 1/3 innings for El Paso, allowing an 8.44 ERA while walking a huge 16.7% of opposing hitters. The Padres will now have a week to deal him or put him on waivers.

Morejón is now officially out until the end of May. He returned from Tommy John surgery to make 26 appearances out of the bullpen last season. Elbow soreness cropped back up this spring, an alarming development considering that history. Initial imaging didn’t reveal any structural damage, with the club first calling the issue inflammation. Terming it a sprain — which inherently involves some stretching of the ligament — is a little more concerning and will keep him out of action for a while.

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