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.
It was a bad deal before a contract was even drawn up when Preller thought to himself “yeah let’s talk to that guy Drew Pomeranz…”
He was never good for an extended period of time, not good for an entire season and was way overpaid on this deal.
Preller loves damaged goods. Preller loves to overpay. Drew Pomeranz is AJ Preller’s perfect wet dream inspiration. He couldn’t resist.
Last 2 seasons Pomeranz has been good when he’s on the bump. I’ll give Preller credit there, but he had to have been bidding against himself to sign a lefty reliever coming off a bad platform season to a 4 year deal.
You are so wrong here + contracts are for past performance, stop acting like future performance matters, Pomeranz has more than earned his contract based off his play on the field – we cant ding people for injuries.
This is straight up stupidity. Pomeranz was a great reliever for Milwaukee before he was signed. He had a rough season as a SP in 2019. Was absolutely dominant once he was a reliever.
Continued to be very good for SD when he’s on the mound. Injuries though.
Has there ever been a bigger “lose-lose deal” than the Hader deal that just blew up for both teams so quickly. There is time for both teams to come out of it looking, well not good, but better than now. But it’s just been horrible so far for both teams.
Gasser and Esteury Ruiz are the main pieces Milwaukee got back so it’s not really fair to say all that.
Hader wasn’t dominant in MIL this year either.
Pomeranz been worth the money overall, he’s so nasty as a reliever, keep him out of the rotation and he’s elite.
Ahh, there’s two conditions to it… His health and some luck. He is not been the lights-out guy except for part of one season and then fragments of other seasons.
Both as a starter and then when he was converted to a reliever, he’s desirable if healthy. But that four year deal was way wrong.
Why was it “way wrong”? You have no idea
Cost of the contract vs what they got out of it.
That’s why it was wrong.
Not really sure how much more black and white it can be.
Are you sure this season is the only thing he’s done with? Can’t hang on then hang up.
Ya bc you can totally control injuries that severe right Ariana? Use your brain before your next post, please.
Thought Pom would make it back this year . Pitched great when healthy. Elbows and pitching are tough . Hopefully makes recovery and gets right for next year
$575,231 per inning so far on the deal. When the deal was signed it was totally ludicrous. The only way to even come close to justifying $34m for a bullpen piece is if the guy is a long term effective closer. Pomeranz was coming off about 4 months of decent work and wasn’t a closer. Preller paid $34m for an 8th inning guy, who everyone knew couldn’t stay healthy.
Another big win for Preller……
God this sucks. Hoping for a bounce back from Hader
What makes y’all dopes think you have even a remote understanding of baseball business and contracts? (Talking to you socal99)
The contract was criticized for being too long and too expensive. He’s thrown 44 innings in the first 3 years, and now will be coming off a completely lost year for the final season. He clearly missed time in 2021 as well, with only 20 appearances.
The real question is, do you understand how to evaluate contracts…? What makes you think he has been worth the deal thus far..?
A players health isn’t a subject for attacks, on that player or the team that employs him.
Sure.
But the forethought, or lack thereof, about giving a guy a long term deal that was clearly an overpay when signed, is certainly worthy of criticism when it doesn’t work out
And sure. But I wasn’t commenting against that criticism?
To the degree you really think you can differentiate that on the internet to a public forum and people you’ve never met, okay
But most comments on this thread fit my exception
Thanks for considering so deeply my audience. It’s been quite the analysis. Again, I wasn’t commenting against any specific comment or criticism as you can see. My comment was a general one, and of course, to those I’ve never met.
I remember when Pomeranz was the big return for the Rockies when they traded Ubaldo Jimenez to Cleveland. Fair to say that trade was a disappointment for both teams as Ubaldo declined quickly and Pomeranz was mediocre or injured throughout his Rockies tenure.
How the turntables…
2.5 years ago during the covid lock-in when MLBTR did their mock expansion draft Tommy Pham and Drew Pomeranz were both among the players they “auto-protected” for the Padres. Didn’t even give fans the chance to vote on protecting them or not. Today, Tommy Pham is almost universally hated in San Diego and the Pomeranz contract looks very regrettable.
Believe Pom has one year left on the contract. Here’s hoping he can get back on track before Spring Training 2023.
On a positive note, Pomeranz’s mlbpa pension just fully vested – passed 10 years of service this week.