Liam Hendriks, Aaron Bummer Join Drew Pomeranz to Bolster I-Cubs Staff
Some of you may be old enough to remember all the way back to yesterday, when I wrote about how there’s precious little pitching help waiting in Triple-A. While that may still be the case, the Iowa Cubs have received a few doses of generic Viagra that may or may not be effective since they’re all past their respective expiration dates. But hey, no harm in trying.
We had already noted the club’s addition of lefty Drew Pomeranz, whose resurgence with the Cubs last season allowed him to ink a $4 million deal with the Angels. His performance dropped off badly and he was designated for assignment, so the Cubs brought him back on a minor league deal to see if there’s any gas left in the tank. Pomeranz pitched one scoreless inning of relief for the I-Cubs on Sunday, his first action in two weeks, and struck out two with a walk.
As I-Cubs broadcaster Jason Kempf tweeted on Tuesday morning, former White Sox relievers Liam Hendriks and Aaron Bummer have also joined the Triple-A team in Toledo for this week’s series. Both inked minors deals earlier this season and have been out in Arizona getting ramped up to game speed. Bummer, who was released by the Braves on May 19, made two scoreless Arizona Complex League appearances last week. Hendricks was signed back on March 16 and made his first ACL appearance on June 26, striking out two with no hits or walks in an inning of work.
Bummer’s performance fell off a cliff with Atlanta this season, but he used to be one of the best groundball pitchers in baseball with the Sox. He’s not yet 33 years old, so there’s reason to believe he could recapture some of what made him such an outstanding reliever. I have to believe the Cubs will play around with his repertoire, which used to be almost purely sinker/slider in his prime. Now he’s got a starter’s mix with a lot less velocity, hence the dramatic reduction in effectiveness.
Hendriks is more than four years older and has pitched fewer than 19 MLB innings since 2022 due to cancer treatment, UCL reconstruction, and right hip inflammation. His fastball was still sitting around 95 mph with the Braves last season and there’s no denying his desire to compete, but just wanting it isn’t enough to be a viable high-leverage reliever.
While it’s a pipe dream to hope that either pitcher can turn the clock back five years, the Cubs have to kick every tire in an attempt to push their broken-down bullpen to the trade deadline. If either Bummer or Hendriks can provide a few competent innings over the next few weeks, it’ll be a big plus. And if they both fizzle out at Triple-A, there’s no harm done.
