Red Sox and Drew Pomeranz Avoid Arbitration, Agree on One-Year Deal

The Boston Red Sox agreed to a one-year, $4.45 million contract with Drew Pomeranz to avoid arbitration. Pomeranz was acquired by the Red Sox in 2016 and was expected to beef up their starting rotation. He ended up going 3-5 with a 4.59 earned run average over 14 games (13 starts).

Pomeranz has been in the league since 2011, spending time with the Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics and San Diego Padres before coming to Boston. He made a name for himself at the start of 2016. Before being shipped to Boston, he posted a 2.47 ERA and an 8-7 record with the Padres on his way to his first appearance in the All Star Game.

His time with the Red Sox has not been as nice. His numbers did not meet expectations in the second half of the season, and injuries did not help that cause. This offseason, Pomeranz had a stem cell injection to help repair his elbow in hopes of returning to full form in 2017.

His potential impact in 2017

Pomeranz was scratched from his last scheduled start on September 29th and pitched out of the bullpen during Boston’s short playoff run. This spring, he will compete for a spot in the rotation. That will be a tough task, as the rotation already includes all stars Chris Sale and David Price along with 2016 Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello.

Pomeranz will compete with Eduardo Rodriguez and Steven Wright for one of the two starting rotation spots. Also note that Wright was a 2016 All Star and Rodriguez is young up and comer. If Wright pitches like he did in 2016 and Rodriguez is healthy, Pomeranz may have to settle for a bullpen spot and the occasional spot start.

If he ends up in the bullpen, he will have to compete for innings with Tyler Thornburg and Carson Smith. Pomeranz needs to prove his worth this spring, as he has never actually proven himself in the majors.

More from Call to the Pen

His time with the Rockies saw him post a 4-14 record with a 5.20 ERA as a starter. With Oakland, he held a 10-10 record with a 3.08 ERA while mostly coming out of the bullpen. His time in San Diego was short, and it is important to note he pitched in pitcher-friendly Petco Park. If his time with the Red Sox is any indication, it could be a tough go-round for him in 2017.

He can still surprise us

While Pomeranz is largely unproven and hasn’t shown true stardom, that shouldn’t mean people should write him off. His time out of the bullpen in Oakland, while not amazing, was still productive. He had the 10th best strikeouts per nine innings in 2016 and possesses a full repertoire of pitches.

At age 28, Pomeranz could still have some good years left in him. If he impresses in spring training, he could be a great back-end option to one of the best projected rotations in baseball. The pressure won’t be as high with Sale, Price and Porcello all pitching in front of him and that could be beneficial. He was looked on to help a struggling rotation last season and didn’t live up to the hype.

With the chance to redeem himself in a less pressure-filled role, Pomeranz has a chance to thrive. Hopefully, he can repeat his San Diego production. As a fourth or fifth starter pitching behind a row All Stars, he can focus more on doing his job instead of trying to do too much. There is also the possibility the stem cell injection helps him regain his ability to pitch effectively.

No matter how you look at it, the Pomeranz deal is not terribly risky. In today’s game, $4.45 million is not an incredible amount for a starter and still isn’t bad for a reliever. With Boston’s efforts to bulk up their whole pitching staff, this could be the chance Pomeranz needs to show he can pitch effectively at the top level.

There are quite a few variables. It will be interesting to see his response to his role and his offseason healing process. The expectations aren’t as high as before, and that could be exactly what Pomeranz needs.