Cubs Gamble on Pomeranz as Bullpen Implosion Forces Desperate Measures

The Cubs are activating Drew Pomeranz from their minor league roster after the Angels released him in mid-June, per multiple reports including 670 The Score. The move follows Chicago's decision to option left-hander Jordan Wicks to the minors and slots directly into a bullpen that has become a casualty ward. Palencia, Maton, Milner, Roberts, Harvey, Martin, and Miller are all on the injured list; Porter Hodge is done for the season. That cascading collapse has forced 10 different Cubs relievers to earn saves in recent weeks—a signal of organizational desperation, not depth.

Pomeranz's 2026 resume offers little comfort. He posted a 5.01 ERA across 25 appearances with the Angels before his release, and elbow inflammation cost him time in the middle of the season. This is not the same pitcher who delivered a 2.17 ERA across 57 appearances in 2025, his first healthy campaign in years at age 36. That 2025 season—marked by 14 holds, a save, and four opener appearances—felt like a second act. The 2026 Angels experience suggests the act is closing.

Yet context matters here. The Angels subsidize Pomeranz's $4 million contract; the Cubs pay only the prorated league minimum. More critically, Chicago has exhausted internal options and faces an immediate save-opportunity vacuum. With the closer role rotating among backups, volatility in save equity has exploded. The team expects Pomeranz to compete for saves and high-leverage appearances despite his deteriorating stuff and injury history. That expectation is aggressive but understandable given the personnel crisis.

For prop bettors, the Pomeranz signing creates a short-term inefficiency in Cubs reliever usage rather than a predictable one. The bullpen is so fractured that save totals are unpredictable—Pomeranz could earn two in a week or none for a month depending on when (or if) injured arms return. The play is not to lean on Pomeranz's individual performance lines, which offer poor value given his 5.01 ERA and age-36 profile. Instead, watch Cubs team total unders and bullpen-dependent props (team wins, innings pitched per relief appearance) tighten or shift as the injury list stabilizes. Any assumption that Pomeranz stabilizes the closer rotation should be treated as a fade; the Cubs remain one or two surprise injuries away from cycling through another rotation of emergency relievers. The real edge is skepticism of Cubs bullpen reliability priced as better than it actually is.