The Cubs made a trade with the Mariners on Monday, sending cash to Seattle for left-handed pitcher Drew Pomeranz. He'll be up later this week on the active roster, but according to reports the Cubs will do a different roster move ahead of Tuesday's series opener against the Dodgers.

Left-handed pitcher Jordan Wicks was called up on Friday by the Cubs and pitched in two games against the Diamondbacks. He only threw five pitches in Friday's all-time classic at Wrigley Field and then came in to pitch in extra innings on Sunday. Wicks was charged with the loss after allowing two unearned runs in two innings of work in the series finale against Arizona.

On Monday, the Cubs optioned Wicks back to Triple-A. So, the Cubs will add Pomeranz to the bullpen, but that won't be until Wednesday. So, someone else will have to promoted for Tuesday's game and Iowa Cubs beat reporter Tommy Birch may have dropped a hint as to one possibility.

One interesting arm in the @IowaCubs bullpen this season has been righty Gavin Hollowell. He’s got 10 strikeouts across 6.1 innings of work.

Someone to keep an eye on with Chicago constantly looking for relief pitching.

— Tommy Birch (@TommyBirch) April 21, 2025

Gavin Hollowell is on the 40-man roster and is coming off his best appearance of the year at Triple-A. Last Thursday, the right-handed reliever struck out five batters in two perfect innings for the Iowa Cubs.

The Cubs acquired Hollowell off waivers, claiming him from the Diamondbacks last August. The 27-year-old did make one relief outing in the big leagues with the Cubs in 2024, tossing 1.1 scoreless innings against the Phillies on Sept. 23.

So, we'll see who the Cubs call up later today. Then, they'll make another roster move to bring in Pomeranz.

Cubs Trade for Drew Pomeranz

Pomeranz, now 36-years-old, was an All-Star in 2016 and won a World Series title with the Red Sox in 2018. The left-handed pitcher transitioned from a starter to full-time reliever in 2019, when he was with the Milwaukee Brewers, managed by current Cubs skipper Craig Counsell. Since then, Pomeranz has been stellar out of the bullpen, just one catch though.

In 2021, Pomeranz recorded a 1.75 ERA in 25.2 innings with the San Diego Padres. That was his last season in the majors. Pomeranz had surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in Aug. 2021, which then limited him to a handful of minor league rehab appearances in 2022. He had another procedure done in 2023, and a setback once again cost him the chance to return to the majors with the Padres.

In 2024, Pomeranz signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers. He made some outings at Triple-A, but was then released in May. The left-hander then signed with the Giants, but never pitched for their organization.

That brings us to this past offseason, when Pomeranz agreed to a minor league deal with the Mariners. He was let go in spring training, but re-signed and began the season at Triple-A. Now, he'll be in the Cubs bullpen.

Drew Pomeranz deserves a spot on an MLB roster https://t.co/qCwykeS7Jb pic.twitter.com/82hEWVYv3v

— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) March 23, 2025

According to Rosenthal, Pomeranz had a clause in his contract that he had to be offered to every team in MLB and if any of the other 29 organizations would agree to call him up to the majors, then the Mariners would either have to trade him or call him up themselves.

Pomeranz had upward mobility clause. Mariners needed to offer him to every other club. If a team was willing to bring him to the majors, they either had to promote him or trade him there. Pitched for Craig Counsell in Milwaukee in 2019.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) April 21, 2025

From 2019-21, Pomeranz posted a 1.73 ERA as a reliever in 75 appearances. The left-handed pitcher had an unbelievable strikeout rate of 38.8% and held hitters to a .177 batting average.

According to The Athletic, Pomeranz will be added to the bullpen on Wednesday.