Chicago Cubs: Free agent relievers the team could look at

Chicago Cubs: This lefty excelled after moving to the bullpen

One might look at Drew Pomeranz and go “meh”, which is probably justified, however there could be some value in the veteran lefty. Pomeranz has had a very up and down career, much of the time being a starter. He would have a few good seasons and a few not-so-good ones.

Last season he split between the Giants and Brewers and it was a tale of two pitchers. With the Giants he appeared in 21 games while starting 17 of them and pitched to a 5.68 ERA and 5.24 FIP with 36 walks and 17 homers surrendered. When he was traded to the Brewers he pitched in 25 games (reliever in all but one) and put up a 2.39 ERA, 2.68 FIP, 0.911 WHIP and 15.4 K/9.

Pomeranz has 824 career strikeouts in 814 innings which equates to a 9.1 K/9. His career ERA is 4.04 and FIP at 4.20. So overall he has been a bit above average while having the ability to put a solid number of Ks on the board. Last season he made $1.5 million on a one-year deal and will be another affordable arm available on the market. It could be a nice reward to take a chance on a guy who could potentially be a solid lefty addition to the pen.

Again there is no easy fix to the pen. Even signing one of these guys is not going to fix the issue completely. However you have to start somewhere and you can never build enough depth.