With Drew Pomeranz struggling in the starting rotation he gets demoted to the bullpen. With a 6.34 ERA, how will Pomeranz pitch in the postseason?
The 2018 Boston Red Sox are having a record regular season. The Red Sox are on pace for 115 wins and hold a 10.5 game lead in the American League East. We’ve heard all season though about the struggles out of the bullpen.
Also, President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski didn’t address the bullpen problem by adding a reliever at the deadline. Instead, Dombrowski added left fielder/first baseman Steve Pearce with a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays, added starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi from the Tampa Bay Rays, and second baseman Ian Kinsler from the Los Angeles Angels.
All three acquisitions have worked in favor of the Red Sox. Since coming to the Red Sox, Eovaldi is 2-0 with a 1.99 ERA. Pearce is batting .310 average with 6 home runs and 15 RBI’s with Boston. Ian Kinsler has a .400 batting average so far since the trade at the deadline.
Switching gears and focusing on the bullpen, especially Drew Pomeranz, who was demoted to the bullpen last week. Pomeranz has a 6.31 ERA with 44 strikeouts, 32 walks, over 11 starts. His record is 2-5 in the 2018 season.
Pomeranz was placed on the 10-day disabled list on June 5 with left biceps tendinitis. Pomeranz would make his first rehab start in Pawtucket in July and it was a disappointment. He only pitched 2 2/3 innings, gave up 4 hits, 5 earned runs, 2 walks, and 2 strikeouts on 56 pitches. Pomeranz only had one good outing when he was pitching for the Pawsox when he pitched 3 1/3 innings and had 49 of his 69 pitches for strikes. Other than that, his rehab starts were subpar and allowed 13 hits when he was rehabbing with the Pawsox.
Pomeranz would then go into the starting rotation and completely fall apart. He made a relief appearance Wednesday night in Philadelphia against the Phillies and was terrible. Manager Alex Cora put Pomeranz in the game in the seventh inning. The Phillies would score three times and win 7-4, splitting the two-game series.
"“I wanted to see how he, in a close game, put him in a high-leverage situation with a few switch-hitters and a lefty there to see how he reacted,” Cora told reporters after the game, per the Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato. “He threw the ball well in Baltimore, so we trust the guy. Also, it’s good to stay away from some guys. But at the same time, we wanted to see how he would do in that situation.”"
The difference is Baltimore is a bad team while the Phillies are a good team.
"“My mechanics, I’ve been blocking myself off all year,” said Pomeranz. “In previous years, you’re in a good position, you can put more into it, push off the mound and throw harder. Right now, I just kind of feel blocked. It’s annoying to deal with. That’s something I work on every single day, but I’ll get there eventually, hopefully.”"
If he can’t pitch well, even out of the bullpen, against good competition, how does he expect to pitch well against good competition in the playoffs? Does Pomeranz even make the postseason roster with a 6.34 ERA? Cora was testing Pomeranz the other night to see if he could handle that situation. Obviously, Pomeranz couldn’t.
How much of an impact will Pomeranz make in the postseason? My opinion is zero because with that ERA he probably won’t even make the postseason roster. Pomeranz was demoted to the bullpen for a reason because he wasn’t making the cut as a starter in the rotation. Pomeranz has about five weeks to prove he earns a spot on the postseason roster out of the bullpen. If he does come out of the bullpen in the postseason hopefully the offense does what they’ve been doing all year.