MLB Roundup 1/24: Drew Pomeranz signs with the Giants

Drew Pomeranz signs one-year deal with the Giants

Old friend alert! Drew Pomeranz spent his entire time on the Red Sox as a somewhat divisive player, not because of any personality-related issues but rather his rollercoaster on the field. That he was traded straight-up for one of the most exciting prospects in baseball didn’t help his cause. I think he definitely provided the value to make that trade worth it, but it’s fair to think that they could have traded Anderson Espinoza for something else at that time. Still, while Pomeranz was brutal in 2018, he was better than he got credit for in his half-season with the team in 2016 and was a key part of the team’s division-winning run in 2017. All of this is being re-litigated because, on Wednesday, the southpaw signed a new one-year deal with the Giants. The base deal is worth $1.5 million, but there are a billion incentives to get that contract up. You can see them by following that link. The longer free agency went with Pomeranz not reaching a deal, the more I thought it was possible he’d come back to Boston on a minor-league deal. That was probably never realistic, though. Pomeranz will get a chance to regain his value in the best pitcher’s park in the game. If he does, the Giants got themselves a nice trade chip for midseason in a year they will presumably be retooling for the future. Win-win.

The low-level reliever market could start moving

Pomeranz was the only “real” bit of news on Wednesday, but ESPN’s Jeff Passan did drop a tweet that is relevant to what the Red Sox have implied they’ll be doing this winter. Passan mentioned that the next few days should see movement among the lower-end relievers who will be signed on one-year deals, something in which the Red Sox could be interested. Specifically, he mentions Ryan Madson and Brad Brach, but the implication is that there are a lot more names out there than that. The Red Sox, of course, have already been connected to Shawn Kelley and are rumored to be interested in guys who will sign for about $2-$3 million for one year. I’ve made my feelings clear on this for a while now, and still think if this is the market in which they want to search they might as well just hold the cash and save it for the deadline. That said, I’m also dying for something to happen, so this could be good on that front.