Report: Cubs acquiring left-handed pitcher from Mariners

CHICAGO (WGN) — The Chicago Cubs are acquiring Drew Pomeranz from the Seattle Mariners, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.

Rosenthal reports that Pomeranz, a 36-year-old left-hander who had been pitching at the Triple-A level to start the year, has an upward mobility clause in his contract, which led to the trade.

The upward mobility clause required the Mariners to either promote him to their Major League roster or make him available to every other MLB team. If a team was willing to bring him up to the big leagues, they were then required to trade him to whatever team may want his services.

Pomeranz had a 4.66 ERA in 9.2 innings pitched over nine appearances so far this year in Triple-A. In those nine appearances, he notched 14 strikeouts to six walks.

Pomeranz has previous ties playing for Cubs manager Craig Counsell. He was on Counsell’s pitching staff while he was the manager of the Milwaukee Brewers for part of the 2019 season.

After being traded to the Brewers, Pomeranz posted a 2.39 ERA across 25 appearances, where he amassed 26.1 IP with 45 strikeouts to just eight walks.