The Chicago Cubs overcame their bullpen’s struggles to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-10 in front of 36,425 fans at Wrigley Field on Tuesday night. The Cubs’ bullpen gave up four earned runs (Brad Keller) in a contest that went to extra innings.
Chicago’s bullpen has been a cause of concern for a team that appears to be on the way to competing for the NL Central because of the strength of their offense. This week, the Cubs traded with the Seattle Mariners for left-handed relief pitcher Drew Pomeranz.
Pomeranz was an interesting acquisition for the Cubs. He earned an All-Star nomination in 2016 and won a World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2018, but has not pitched in the majors since he was with the San Diego Padres in 2021.
Why the Chicago Cubs made the trade
Per Zoe Grossman of Marquee Sports Network, Cubs president Jed Hoyer said the team traded for Pomeranz to add another left-handed pitcher to the bullpen.
“We haven’t had a second lefty up here too often, so for (manager) Craig (Counsell), it made a lot of sense,”Hoyer said on Tuesday.
Hoyer suggested that the Cubs would call Pomeranz up from Iowa soon, as the team wants to shuffle up the bullpen.
“I think we’ll continue to shuffle the bullpen — it’s the right thing to do,” Hoyer said. “We have a number of guys throwing well, so hopefully we’ll hit on some of them.”
The Cubs have one left-handed relief pitcher on the roster. At 38, Caleb Thielbar has a 4.0 ERA and seven strikeouts in 9.0 innings pitched. He’s given up four earned runs and has earned seven strikeouts.
Drew Pomeranz is trading up
Pomeranz has an ERA of 4.66 in Triple-A to start 2025, but has not given up a run in five games. Counsell thinks Pomeranz is trending up this season.
“We think Drew is headed in the right direction — that’s what we made the acquisition on,” Counsell said. “His velocity is on a good trajectory right now, and when he’s had the better fastball velocity, he’s had success in this league.”
The Cubs’ bullpen has been an issue. The team ranks 27th in ERA at 5.34.
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