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Drew Pomeranz

Padres Notes: Soto, Nola, Pomeranz

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Padres manager Bob Melvin spoke today with reporters, including Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, regarding the status of superstar outfielder Juan Soto, who was pulled from a minor league spring training game on Sunday thanks to a mild left oblique strain. Melvin noted that Soto is set to undergo an MRI, but reaffirmed the club’s belief that the injury is a mild one, and noted that a return to action in time for Opening Day next week is not out of the question.

That’s about as good of news as Padres fans can get ahead of an MRI, as any absence from Soto would be a serious blow for a Padres club that will already play the first twenty games of its season without fellow phenom Fernando Tatis Jr. while he completes his suspension for PED usage. That being said, even if Soto were to begin the season on the injured list, the club would still be set to run out a star-studded roster on Opening Day that includes the likes of Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Yu Darvish, and Josh Hader.

In the event that Soto does miss time, the likes of Jose Azocar and Adam Engel could benefit in terms of playing time as long as he is out. If Soto were to miss enough time that Tatis returns before him, it seems reasonable to expect that Matt Carpenter, currently slated to play right field while Tatis is suspended, would slide over to left to cover for the remainder of Soto’s absence.

More from Padres camp…

  • Acee also notes that catcher Austin Nola, who suffered a fractured nose after getting hit in the face with a pitch on Sunday, is expected to return to the field tomorrow for “light work”, with an Opening Day start behind the plate still on the table. Nola, a solid bat-first catcher coming off his first below average offensive season (89 wRC+ in 110 games) in 2022, figures to be the club’s starting catcher this year. San Diego is fortunate to have a quality backup in the form of Luis Campusano should Nola miss any time. If Nola requires a brief stint on the injured list, Brett Sullivan stands to back up as the only other catcher on the 40-man roster unless the Padres decide to make a 40-man roster move to accommodate a non-roster invitee such as Pedro Severino.
  • In less fortunate injury news, Dennis Lin of The Athletic notes that lefty reliever Drew Pomeranz is set to miss opening day after feeling some inflammation in his elbow. Pomeranz has been excellent for the Padres when healthy, posting a sterling 1.62 ERA over the past two seasons, but this latest setback adds to the 34 year old’s lengthy injury history that led him to pitch just 44 1/3 innings in that same timeframe. Fortunately for San Diego, Josh Hader and Robert Suarez are certainly a capable tandem for late-inning duties to open the season.

Padres Optimistic Regarding Drew Pomeranz’s Readiness For Season

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The Padres were without a key bullpen piece for all of last season. Left-hander Drew Pomeranz missed the whole year after suffering a setback in his recovery from August 2021 surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his forearm.

With camp opening this week, San Diego skipper Bob Melvin provided reporters (including AJ Cassavell of MLB.com) with an update on the veteran reliever’s status. While the club plans to take things cautiously early in exhibition play, they’re anticipating a fairly normal build-up to the regular season. “I wouldn’t say (Pomeranz) is on a program where he’s completely a ’go’ like everybody else,” Melvin said. “That could happen at some point in time early in camp. There’s still probably some restrictions on him. But once we get to games, hopefully he’s in a place where he’s just trying to get ready for a season.”

If all goes as expected, the 34-year-old will be in the Opening Day bullpen. A healthy Pomeranz would have a chance at carving out a key late-game role. Prior to his season-ending injury in 2021, he’d posted a 1.75 ERA with a 29.4% strikeout percentage through 25 2/3 innings. That came on the heels of an even more dominant 1.45 ERA, 39.7% strikeout rate over 18 1/3 frames during the shortened 2020 season. All told, Pomeranz has a 1.62 ERA while punching out a little more than a third of his opponents in 47 appearances during this stint as a Padre.

Signed to a surprising four-year deal over the 2019-20 offseason, Pomeranz has more than made good on the organization’s faith on a rate basis but unfortunately been unable to accrue many innings. He’s headed into the final season of that contract and playing this year on a $10MM salary. That makes this a pivotal season for the former All-Star, since he’s slated to return to the open market next winter.

Pomeranz will at least be joined by star closer Josh Hader and ground-ball specialist Tim Hill as left-handers in the bullpen. Adrián Morejón would likely join them if he’s not given a rotation opportunity. San Diego would have to keep Rule 5 selection Jose Lopez on the big league staff if they want to retain his long-term contractual rights, while José Castillo, Tom Cosgrove and Ray Kerr could all find themselves in the mix. There’s ample depth, though Pomeranz may have the highest upside of the bunch aside from Hader. From the right side, Robert Suarez, Luis García and Steven Wilson all look likely to assume important innings in what should be a very strong relief corps.

Drew Pomeranz Likely Done For 2022 Season

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San Diego Padres reliever Drew Pomeranz’s 2022 season will almost certainly go down as a lost season, with Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune (article link) reporting that the southpaw is continuing to experience discomfort in his left elbow. Acee adds that while a recent MRI shows no new structural damage, Padres manager Bob Melvin is pessimistic regarding the lefty’s chance of successfully rehabbing and making his 2022 debut.

Since signing a four-year, $34 million contract with the Padres prior to the 2020 season, Pomeranz has been a steady fixture in the bullpen, posting a sub-2 ERA with a handful of saves over 44 1/3 innings during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. However, Pomeranz underwent flexor tendon surgery in August 2021, finishing the season with a 1.75 ERA in 27 appearances, and was expected to return to the mound late this season. Nevertheless, continued soreness during rehab has led to stalled progress.

This is not the first time Pomeranz has lost most of a season to injury. He pitched only 74 innings (11 starts) in 2018 with bicep and forearm injuries. Additionally, in 2016 when the Padres traded Pomeranz to the Red Sox, Padres General Manager A.J. Preller was suspended 30 days for the improper handling of players’ medical files.

As for the Padres, they are currently in the thick of the NL Wild Card race with a 77-63 record – half a game behind the Phillies and three games ahead of the Brewers. Their bullpen has been solid, ranking 13th in ERA with a collective 3.80 and 12th in WHIP with a collective 1.23. The team attempted to address their slightly above-average bullpen at the trade deadline, in a more under-the-radar move compared to the Juan Soto trade, with the swap of Taylor Rogers and Dinelson Lamet for three-time National League Relief Pitcher of the Year Josh Hader. However, Hader has floundered since arriving in San Diego, with the usually dominant reliever posting a 13.50 ERA and 2.423 WHIP in 8 2/3 innings after the trade, resulting in the removal from his traditional closing role.

Nevertheless, the Padres still have control of Pomeranz for one more season. If he has a healthy and productive Spring Training, it would not be surprising to see Preller extend the southpaw with the Padres farm system considerably thinned out in recent years.

Pitching Notes: Wheeler, Pomeranz, Flaherty, Hudson

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Zack Wheeler underwent an MRI Thursday that didn’t reveal any structural damage, Phillies interim manager Rob Thomson told NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury and other reporters.  Wheeler received the testing after feeling soreness during a catch session, and while the issue seems to be just be elbow inflammation, it does present new questions about when Wheeler will be able to return to the rotation.  The right-hander was retroactively placed on the 15-day injured list on August 22, and was expected to miss two starts while recovering from forearm tendinitis.

“It’s feeling better and I’m sure if this was a playoff game, he’d say, ’Give me the ball.’  But he’s still feeling it a little bit so we’re going to wait and re-evaluate on Monday or Tuesday,” Thomson said.  The skipper said he isn’t too concerned about Wheeler’s status, but Wheeler won’t be activated from the IL on Tuesday, his first day of eligibility for reinstatement.  Wheeler is enjoying another strong season and has been a big part of the Phillies’ success, and the club naturally needs the righty back as soon as possible (health permitting) for the stretch run.

More on other pitching situations around baseball….

  • Drew Pomeranz has yet to pitch this season after undergoing flexor tendon surgery in August 2021, and his chances of a return seemingly took a hit when his rehab was shut down due to soreness two weeks ago.  However, Padres manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune) that Pomeranz played catch on Friday and is slated to throw later this week.  After the shutdown, Pomeranz had a checkup with Dr. Neal ElAttrache but was told that some soreness is a routine part of the recovery process.  “There’s still a chance to get [Pomeranz] back here before the season is over,” Melvin said.
  • The Cardinals will activate Jack Flaherty off the 60-day IL Monday for a start against the Nationals.  Shoulder problems have limited Flaherty to only eight innings over three starts this season, marking his second consecutive injury-marred year.  With Flaherty back, Cards manager Oliver Marmol told reporters (including Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) that Dakota Hudson will move to the bullpen for now, and might not start again until a doubleheader against the Reds on September 17.  Despite below-average Statcast metrics almost across the board, Hudson has managed a 4.43 ERA over 126 innings, though his SIERA is a less-favorable 5.11.  It doesn’t seem like either Flaherty or Hudson are candidates for starting assignments in the postseason, though their work in September and October will give Marmol and company more to think about in determining roles on playoff rosters.

NL Notes: Megill, Suarez, Pomeranz, Bettinger

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It was recently reported that the Mets are aiming to have Tylor Megill work out of the bullpen when he returns from the injured list, given that their rotation is healthier than it was early in the season. However, the team has told Megill that he will be stretched back out as a starter for next year, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.

The fact that the Mets still want to try Megill as a rotation candidate is fairly sensible, given that it’s possible they will face a huge amount of turnaround in that department in the coming months. Jacob deGrom has long maintained that he’s going to exercise his opt-out after this year, despite his lengthy injury battles. Chris Bassitt has a mutual option for 2023, which is unlikely to be exercised by both sides, as mutual options almost never are. Taijuan Walker has a $6MM player option with a $3MM buyout. Though he can increase the value of that option with incentives as high as $8.5MM with 175 innings pitched this year, he’s still likely to turn that down and find more money in free agency. The Mets hold a $14MM club option over Carlos Carrasco that will vest if he reaches 170 innings and finishes the year healthy.

It’s within the realm of possibility that the Mets begin the offseason with an on-paper rotation of Max Scherzer followed by depth options like David Peterson and Joey Lucchesi. Given all that uncertainty, it’s understandable that they’d want to keep Megill in the mix. He stepped up to fill in for deGrom earlier this season and posted a 1.93 ERA through April, though he then posted an 11.48 ERA after that as his shoulder injury seemed to catch up with him.

Other notes from the Senior Circuit…

  • The Padres reinstated righty Robert Suarez from the 60-day injured list yesterday, per a club announcement. The 40-man roster already had a vacancy, meaning no corresponding move was required in that regard. Fellow righty Steven Wilson was optioned to create room on the active roster. Suarez was signed in the offseason after a five-year stint in Japan and has thrown 24 1/3 innings for the Padres this year. His 29.3% strikeout rate is very strong though it also comes with a 13.1% walk rate, leading to a 3.33 ERA on the year so far. He’s been on the IL since early June due to knee inflammation.
  • The San Diego bullpen could soon welcome back another injured hurler, as lefty Drew Pomeranz has begun a rehab assignment. Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Pomeranz is expected to pitch in at least two rookie ball games before deciding next steps. Signed to a four-year deal in late 2019, the southpaw had an excellent showing in the shortened 2020 season, throwing 18 2/3 innings with a 1.45 ERA and 39.7% strikeout rate, though he also had a 13.7% walk rate. He was putting up fairly similar numbers last year before undergoing surgery to repair an injured flexor tendon, a procedure he’s still working back from almost a year later. If he can come back in a form that’s anywhere close to what he showed in 2020 and 2021, he should provide a huge boost to the Friars’ relief corps, which also just picked up Josh Hader prior to the trade deadline.
  • The Brewers announced that right-hander Alec Bettinger has been released. The 27-year-old made his MLB debut last year, tossing ten innings over four appearances with an unsightly 13.50 ERA in that small sample. He lost his 40-man roster spot earlier this year, being outrighted in May. Though Bettinger had put up solid minor league number in previous years, he’s not fared well this season, registering a 6.49 ERA through 34 2/3 Triple-A innings. After posting walk rates around 6% in recent years, he’s more than doubled it here in 2022, jumping to 12.9%. His strikeouts have also vanished, coming in at a 12.9% clip this year after being in the 23-27% in prior campaigns.

Padres Notes: Gore, Tatis, Pomeranz, Suarez

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The Padres placed left-hander MacKenzie Gore on the 15-day injured list this afternoon, announcing he’s dealing with elbow inflammation. Righty Dinelson Lamet has been recalled from Triple-A El Paso to take his spot on the active roster.

San Diego received a scare when Gore departed last night’s outing due to elbow soreness. The prized young hurler told reporters today he feels alright, but the club won’t know much about his long-term status until he heads for further testing (link via AJ Cassavell of MLB.com). In any event, at least a brief IL stint seemed an inevitability after yesterday’s premature exit, even if just as a precaution.

Gore made his major league debut earlier in the year and has had a generally impressive rookie season. The 23-year-old posted a 4.27 ERA through 13 starts, but he’s kicked to the bullpen recently as the club keeps an eye on his innings. He’ll now miss at least the next two weeks, opening up a spot for Lamet. The right-hander has been tagged for 13 runs in 10 2/3 innings of relief this season, bouncing between San Diego and El Paso on options and recalls. The Friars sought a trade partner for Lamet — who’s making $4.775MM — earlier in the year, and it stands to reason the front office will continue trying to move him before next Tuesday’s deadline.

While the Gore news is certainly worrisome for the Friars, they have gotten positive updates on a few other players. The most notable is that star shortstop Fernando Tatís Jr. progressed to taking live batting practice this afternoon (video provided by Dennis Lin of the Athletic). It’s the latest notable step in the recovery for Tatís, who has missed the entire season due to a fracture in his wrist. The timetable for his return to major league action is still uncertain, but he’s on track to impact the club’s hopeful playoff push at some point down the stretch.

That’s also true of a pair of potential high-leverage relievers. Left-hander Drew Pomeranz, who has been out for almost a full calendar year after undergoing surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon, has been throwing to hitters of late. Manager Bob Melvin indicated he could soon head out on a minor league rehab assignment (as relayed by Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune). Meanwhile, offseason signee Robert Suarez is embarking on a rehab stint of his own today, per Acee. The hard-throwing righty has been on the shelf since June 7 due to a right knee issue, but it seems he’s on track to return around when first eligible early next month.

Dodgers Trade Matt Beaty To Padres

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The Padres have acquired first baseman/outfielder Matt Beaty from the Dodgers in exchange for minor league right-hander/infielder River Ryan, per a team announcement. The Padres announced Ryan, a two-way player in college, as a pitcher in their press release. The Dodgers initially announced him as an infielder, but Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets that they still plan to give Ryan opportunities on the mound.

To open space on the 40-man roster, San Diego placed left-hander Drew Pomeranz, who underwent forearm surgery last August, on the 60-day injured list. Beaty was designated for assignment by Los Angeles last week.

Beaty, 28, was a somewhat surprising DFA by the Dodgers, as he was fresh off a .270/.363/.402 showing in 234 plate appearances last season. While Beaty didn’t show substantial power (seven homers, four doubles, one triple, .132 ISO), he walked at a league-average clip, was plunked 10 times (thus driving up his OBP a bit) and made contact at an above-average rate. Beaty fanned in 18.8% of his plate appearances last year and has a career mark of 16.4% — well south of last year’s 22.6% league average (excluding pitchers).

The Padres have been on the hunt for outfield upgrades for much of the offseason but have also reportedly been hamstrung a bit by payroll concerns — a driving factor behind their reported efforts to trade Eric Hosmer and/or Wil Myers. It’s been a generally quiet winter for the Friars, who’ve added a bit to their bullpen (Robert Suarez, Luis Garcia) and signed Nick Martinez to a four-year deal that is laden with opt-out opportunities. Offensively, the lone addition of note thus far has been Luke Voit, whom the Padres acquired from the Yankees last week.

Beaty will give San Diego an option in left field, where utilityman Jurickson Profar had been among the leading candidates for playing time. Beaty can also spell Hosmer at first base or mix in at designated hitter if Voit is unavailable. In addition to his work at first and in the outfield corners, he’s spent a bit of time at third base, but defensive metrics aren’t especially bullish on him at any of the positions he’s played thus far in a small sample of innings. He also has a minor league option remaining, so the Padres don’t necessarily need to commit to keeping him on the big league roster all season.

Ryan, 23, was an 11th-round pick out UNC Pembroke just last season. Though he pitched to a 2.32 ERA with a 29.7% strikeout rate and a 7.8% walk rate in 93 innings of bullpen work during his NCAA career, the Friars didn’t actually put him on the mound during last year’s pro debut. He spent a dozen games with the Padres’ Rookie-level affiliate in the Arizona Complex League and batted .308/.349/.436 with a homer, two doubles and four stolen bases in 43 plate appearances.

Padres Place Jake Arrieta On Injured List

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The Padres announced this evening they’ve placed starter Jake Arrieta on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to August 19, due to a left hamstring strain. The move opens space on the active roster for utilityman Jurickson Profar, who has been reinstated after missing two weeks on the COVID-19 IL. To open space on the 40-man roster for Profar, reliever Drew Pomeranz was transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day IL.

Already reeling in the rotation due to injuries to Yu Darvish, Dinelson Lamet and Chris Paddack, San Diego signed Arrieta this week after he was released by the Cubs. The veteran right-hander made his first start as a Padre on Wednesday at Coors Field. He allowed five runs over 3 1/3 innings against the Rockies before departing due to the hamstring issue that today landed him on the shelf.

With Arrieta also out, San Diego will again have to try and piece things together behind Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell and Ryan Weathers. Reiss Knehr looks like one potential option for the back of the rotation, and the Padres also have Daniel Camarena on the 40-man roster as a pitcher capable of working into the middle innings. Fortunately, Darvish threw a bullpen session this afternoon, his first since landing on the IL last weekend (via AJ Cassavell of MLB.com).

Pomeranz’s transfer to the 60-day IL is nothing more than a procedural move. The southpaw is out for the season after it was determined he’s require surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon.

Drew Pomeranz To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery

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Padres left-hander Drew Pomeranz will undergo surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon, manager Jayce Tingler told The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Annie Heilbrunn (Twitter links) and other reporters.  The procedure will end Pomeranz’s season.

Pomeranz went on the injured list earlier this week due to forearm inflammation, marking the second time that particular injury resulted in an IL stint and the third time overall this season that Pomeranz was sidelined by injury — he missed almost seven weeks in May and June due to a shoulder impingement.  When he has pitched, the southpaw has still been very effective, delivering a 1.75 ERA over 25 2/3 relief innings out of San Diego’s bullpen.

Now, the Padres will have to make do without one of their best relievers, as the snake-bitten team has now lost yet another notable pitcher to a season-ending injury.  Within the last year, Mike Clevinger, Adrian Morejon, Jose Castillo, Keone Kela, Michel Baez, and Dan Altavilla have all undergone Tommy John surgeries, while Javy Guerra has yet to pitch this season due to a sprained UCL.

A specific timeline on Pomeranz isn’t yet known, as recovery from flexor tendon surgeries can vary depending on the amount of damage.  Cardinals righty Miles Mikolas underwent a similar procedure in July 2020 and might have been ready for Opening Day, though Mikolas is something of an imperfect comparison because of several other injury setbacks that delayed his eventual return.  As a relief pitcher, Pomeranz wouldn’t have to rebuild quite as much arm strength as a starter, though Pomeranz has had other arm issues throughout his career that could factor into his recuperation.

Pomeranz was a very promising rotation prospect on his way up the minor league ladder, and he showed quite a bit of that promise throughout his first seven seasons but injuries kept hampering his career.  The Brewers converted Pomeranz to full-time relief work in 2019 and the results were immediately impressive, as the left-hander posted a 2.39 ERA over his 26 1/3 innings with Milwaukee.

This led the Padres to make a sizable investment in Pomeranz’s bullpen future, as San Diego inked him to a four-year, $34MM free agent deal in November 2019.  Between salary and signing bonuses, $20MM remains owed to Pomeranz in 2022-23.  As well as Pomeranz pitched when healthy in his first two seasons, this signing might loom as a bit of an albatross depending on Pomeranz’s future health and the Padres’ flexibility under the luxury tax threshold.  Ownership is reportedly okay with paying the tax, though we won’t know the limits of this openness until the Padres actually do end up over the tax line.

Padres Reinstate Blake Snell, Drew Pomeranz From 10-Day IL; Place Ryan Weathers On 10-Day IL

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The Padres have reinstated left-handers Blake Snell and Drew Pomeranz from the 10-day injured list, the team announced.  Right-hander James Norwood was optioned to Triple-A, and yesterday San Diego officially placed southpaw Ryan Weathers on the 10-day IL due to a right ankle fracture.

Both Snell and Pomeranz are returning as expected after minimal 10-day IL stints, and Snell (who had gastroentiritis) is lined up to start tonight’s game with the Nationals.  Pomeranz had inflammation in his throwing forearm, though this somewhat ominous injury wasn’t considered particularly serious, as Padres manager Jayce Tingler indicated to reporters at the time of Pomeranz’s placement.

The Padres will welcome all the arms they can get in the wake of multiple pitching injuries, with Weathers representing the latest absence.  On the plus side, Weathers’ ankle issue seems a little less serious than it first appeared when he had to be helped off the field last Sunday, and the left-hander might potentially be able to return before July is over.  Even with Snell back and Weathers perhaps not a long-term concern, San Diego is still expected to focus on adding pitching help prior to the July 30 trade deadline.

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