Brad Keller And Drew Pomeranz have been stalwarts of the bullpen for the Chicago Cubs this season. The former made a club-high 68 appearances during the regular season, pitching to a 2.07 ERA and a 2.94 FIP over 69 2/3 innings, while the latter hit the rubber 57 times and posted a 2.17 ERA and a 3.36 FIP over 49 2/3 innings. The right-left duo worked mainly in setup roles and combined for six wins, four saves and 39 holds. Not bad for a pair of pitchers who were essentially recovery projects when they reported for spring training.
Now with his fourth team in the last three seasons, Keller was 9-22 with a 5.05 ERA from 2022 to 2024. Additionally, he lost all four decisions a year ago while registering a 5.44 ERA. As for Pomeranz’s recent numbers… well, there weren’t any. Hampered by multiple arm injuries, the left-hander had not taken the mound in a big league game since August 2021. At 36, he may have reached the end of the road.
Keller’s path also included injury-related speed bumps. Most notably, the judge was diagnosed with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, which required him to go under the knife after the 2023 season.
“First and foremost it’s about being healthy,” Keller said of his return to form. “I battled TOS for a few years and it really came to a head two years ago. I ended up having surgery and I’m feeling better now than I have in my entire career. I’m recovering better than I ever have before. That, along with some adjustments I’ve made mechanically, has helped me maximize my velocity. Overall, I’m just a better pitcher. In terms of things and in terms of sequencing, I’m using my pitches well. There was actually a renewal of it. everything.”
Pomeranz has made some innovations of its own over the years, including throwing out a few pitches. He has always had a plus-four seam and a quality curveball. Deep into a career that started when he was drafted fifth overall by Cleveland in 2010, that’s all he’s throwing right now.
“These days my game is pretty simple,” Pomeranz said toward the end of the regular season. “This is my 15th year of pro ball and I’ve tried a lot of things. Some have worked, some haven’t worked. I’ve tried to make a change. I’ve tried throwing a cutter. I’ve tried throwing a sinker. I’m at the point now where I know what my best pitches are, instead of constantly looking for new things.
“When I first came up, they wanted everyone to have a fastball, a breaking ball, a changeup, whatever,” Pomeranz added. “Now they identify you as ‘This guy’s not a changeup,’ so they make you throw something else. Are you a supinator or a pronator? They better not force you to throw pitches that you can’t naturally throw very well. If I had done that before, I wouldn’t have forcibly thrown a changeup, and I wouldn’t have given up all the home runs I did on pitches that weren’t my best pitch.”
The now healthy Keller approaches things differently.
“I’m integrating more sinkers this year,” the 30-year-old right-hander explained. “I’m also making more changes. It’s kind of a split change, if you will. I also have the sweeper, which I didn’t have a few years ago. Other than that, I still have the hard slider that I’ve had my entire career, as well as the fastball.”
The speed bump Keller mentioned is real. His four-seater averaged a sharp 150 km/h this year, while previously it was in the 93-94 range. And while he now works exclusively out of the bullpen (he was primarily a starter last year), Keller doesn’t attribute the extra oomph just to shorter stints.
“When I threw three innings in spring training, I was still 97-98,” he said. “In my mind, I’m not putting in much more effort than I would if I was playing multiple innings. Cleaner mechanics, a cleaner arm path – being healthy obviously helps – has allowed me to add a little more velo.”
At a speed of 150 km/h, Pomeranz’s four-seater is not far below his 2020 peak of 150 km/h. Moreover, it is close to his career average. As for the high-80s sinker he scrapped after the 2019 season — he became strictly fastball/curveball in 2020 — it wasn’t intended as a variation on his heater. For all intents and purposes, Pomeranz used it as his cambio.
“The change is the big thing I always struggled with,” the southpaw told me. “I’ve tried so many grips over the years. I finally went to a two-seam fastball, which I threw slower. I called it a BP fastball. That was probably the most success I had with a change.”
The most success Keller has had as a big league pitcher? According to him, it’s not necessarily this season’s rebounding performance that helped his team reach the postseason. His ERA and FIP were career-bests, as was his 27.2% strikeout rate, but as he noted, it’s hard to compare apples to oranges.
“I feel like I’ve pitched pretty well a few times in my first three years in the major leagues,” said Keller, who had a 3.08 ERA over 140 1/3 innings in his rookie season of 2018, and a 2.47 ERA over 54 2/3 innings in the shortened 2020 season. “That was in a different role, though, so it’s hard to say. But I feel good where I am right now stand. I’m happy about it team to help.”
After Keller told me that he maintained his increased velocity for several innings in spring training, another question arose. Could he see himself returning to a starting role one day and helping a team that way?
“I mean, I started my whole life, and I love starting,” the soon-to-be free agent said. “But then again, I like where I am now — I like the role — so we’ll see. Maybe we won’t see. Maybe we’ll try it out. I’m not sure.”
Pomeranz isn’t about to leave the bullpen — not at his age and with a two-pitch repertoire — but he’s certainly seen his fair share of changes. Starting, relieving, tinkering with his arsenal, moving back and forth between organizations, missing so much time due to all kinds of ailments – he has been on a real roller coaster since the first time interviewed for him Baseball prospectus before reaching the majors.
“I’ve had to change a lot,” Pomeranz said of his journey. “I feel like I’ve died and come back to life five times in baseball. When I was in the bullpen after I started as a starter… I mean, I know what I’m doing now. The first five years of my career, I had no idea what I was doing. I was just pitching. You come up and think you know everything, and maybe you have a little bit of success, but when I look back, no, I had no idea what I was doing.” did.”
No matter how many years of baseball he has left — his contract also expires after the season — Pomeranz knows one thing for sure: He won’t pitch forever.
“I don’t know,” a smiling Pomeranz said at my suggestion that he might. “I guess we’ll see. Right now I’m just thinking about this year.”
With the Cubs on the brink of elimination — they trail 2-0 to the Brewers in the best-of-five NLDS that resumes tonight — this year could soon be over for both Pomeranz and Keller. Where the rejuvenated pitchers will pitch next year has yet to be determined.
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