Chicago Cubs Acquire Veteran Pitcher Drew Pomeranz From Seattle Mariners

The Chicago Cubs made a move to add pitching depth to their organization.

Feb 20, 2025; Peoria, AZ, USA; Seattle Mariners pitcher Drew Pomeranz poses for a portrait during media day at Peoria Sports Complex | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

By now, everyone knows the Chicago Cubs are without Justin Steele for the rest of the way.

He underwent UCL reconstruction surgery on his throwing elbow that should hopefully have him back on the early end of things since it wasn't a full Tommy John procedure. But when it comes to the 2025 campaign, the Cubs will be looking for pitching help.

That prompted them to make a move to acquire a veteran arm.

Per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Chicago has traded for Drew Pomeranz. He was with the Seattle Mariners' Triple-A affiliate. The insider did not reveal what the return package was at the time of writing.

Pomeranz has had an 11-year MLB career, sitting with a 3.91 ERA across his 289 appearances (149 starts). He's recorded 883 strikeouts in 858 1/3 innings pitched.

However, the left-hander hasn't had a Major League outing since 2021.

During that season, after posting a 1.75 ERA across his 20 outings out of the bullpen, he had to undergo surgery to repair his torn flexor tendon in August. That kept him on the shelf for all of 2022, and while trying to make his way back during the 2023 campaign, he had to undergo an additional surgery and had a setback that prevented him from pitching during that year, as well.

Because of that, Pomeranz spent last season in the minors with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants, signing a free agency deal with the Mariners this past winter.

How the long-time pitcher factors into the equation for the Cubs will be seen.

With limited appearances the past few years, everything surrounding him is an unknown. But since Chicago needs pitching depth -- especially as they try to figure out their bullpen situation -- adding someone with this amount of experience doesn't hurt.