Scouting the Hot Stove League: Giants Should Pursue FA LHP Drew Pomeranz

One of the bigger nuggets Farhan Zaidi uncovered in his sluicebox roster is IF Mauricio Dubon who is cementing a presumptive starting job on next year's roster.  But let's review the chain of events that led to Farhan getting his hands on Dubon's contract rights and dream about how that chain may not yet be broken.  It all started with an under-the-radar signing of another player Zaidi had worked with in the past, LHP Drew Pomeranz who was coming off a terrible season with the Boston Red Sox.  Zaidi signed Pomeranz to a 1 yr/$1.5 M base salary with multiple incentive bonuses.  At the All-Star Break, the Pomeranz signing looked like a bust as he achieved several of the bonuses but got knocked around for a 2-9 record with a 6.42 ERA as a SP.

After the break, Pomeranz moved to the bullpen and turned in some dominant innings which was enough to create some trade deadline interest.  Zaidi was able to flip him to to the Brewers by adding Ray Black to the mix and got back a blocked, but highly regarded IF prospect in Dubon.  Of course we all know how impressive Dubon has been since his late-season call up.

Now, I have long suspected that Zaidi was lying in the weeds to re-sign Pomeranz in the upcoming Hot Stove League, throw him back into the sluice box and see what other nuggets work their way to the top of the gravel, but I have to admit I did not pay much attention to what Pomeranz was doing for the BrewCrew after the trade, so I have to give credit to Dan S of Fangraphs for an article yesterday entitled Future Closers?  In it, Dan looked at some of the most dominant relievers in baseball and guess whose name appears at the top of the list?  If you guessed Drew Pomeranz, you are better at this than I.  Here's what Pomeranz's second half pitching line:  0-1, 2.12, 29.2 IP, 10 BB, 44 K's.  And here's what he's done since the trade to Milwaukee:  0-1, 2.79, 19.1 IP, 8 BB, 32 K.

Now, Pomeranz' FA value may be on a steep upward trajectory and Dan S may have blown Farhan Zaidi's cover here.  We'll probably have to pray that Josh Hader stays healthy and Pomeranz gets no further Save Opportunities after converting on 9/11/2019, but he should still be a relative bargain on the free agent market compared to, say, Will Smith.  He's versatile and could probably still be a "five and dive" SP if needed or a long lefty reliever or even a Closer.  Zaidi loves to sign guys he knows and he definitely knows Drew Pomeranz who has turned himself into a very interesting offseason FA target.

Fun Fact:  Did you know Drew Pomeranz' great grandfather, Garland Buckeye, played MLB mostly for the Cleveland Indians and put up a record of 30-39 with a 3.91 ERA between 1918 and 1928?