Dodgers Sign Drew Pomeranz To Minor League Deal; Travis Swaggerty Relased

The Los Angeles Dodgers signed Drew Pomeranz to a Minor League contract and assigned him to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday.

Pomeranz is a left-handed pitcher with 11 years of MLB experience, spending time with the San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies, Boston Red Sox, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants and Milwaukee Brewers.

Pomeranz has been part of numerous high-profile trades, being included in separate deals for Ubaldo Jiménez, Brett Anderson, Yonder Alonso, Mauricio Dubon and as the centerpiece of a move that netted highly-regarded prospect Anderson Espinoza.

The 35-year-old has not pitched at the MLB level since 2021 after undergoing surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon and experiencing a setback. He signed with the Los Angeles Angels organization this offseason, but was released after Spring Training.

Pomeranz had his best season in 2016 with the Padres where he posted a 2.47 ERA across 17 starts and was named an All-Star before being traded to the Red Sox.

Although he’s flashed potential as a starter, Pomeranz has shined as a reliever. Across 160 innings out of the bullpen, Pomeranz has posted a 2.42 ERA while striking out 31.1% of hitters faced.

Prior to his injury in 2021, Pomeranz threw 25.2 innings with a 1.75 ERA out of the Padres’ bullpen. With the Angels in Spring Training, Pomeranz threw eight innings with a 5.63 ERA.

Over his career, he’s posted a 3.91 ERA in 858.1 innings with 883 strikeouts.

While it remains to be seen if he can get on track for the Dodgers, Pomeranz provides them with a low-risk, high-upside option to at minimum serve as organizational depth with Oklahoma City.

Dodgers release Travis Swaggerty

The Dodgers also released Travis Swaggerty from his Minor League deal after he failed to make the club out of camp. Swaggerty was previously assigned to Triple-A.

The former top prospect first made his MLB debut with the Pirates in 2022, but he failed to stick around at the MLB level.

In Spring Training with the Dodgers, he hit just .231/.267/.231 in 13 at-bats. He’s appeared in five MLB games, hitting one single in nine at-bats.