The Los Angeles Angels agreed to terms on one-year contracts with relievers Drew Pomeranz and Jordan Romano on Tuesday, the team announced.
Pomeranz, 37, becomes one of two left-handed relievers currently slated to begin the season on the Major League roster, joining Brock Burke. He joins the Angels for his 13th season after returning to the Majors last season with the Chicago Cubs following a three-season absence due to injury and time in the minors.
He appeared in 57 games with the Cubs last season, posting a 2.17 ERA, 1.067 WHIP, 3.36 FIP, 178 ERA+ and 57 strikeouts in 49.2 innings. It was an emphatic return to the Majors for Pomeranz, who hadn’t played at the big-league level since 2021 and hadn’t been a consistent and healthy contributor for years prior.
He was an All-Star in 2016 when he played for both the San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox.
Romano is 32 years old and is on his third Major League stop in three seasons. He played the first six years of his career for the Toronto Blue Jays and was an All-Star in both 2022 and 2023. Poor performance and injury dismantled his 2024 season, when the Blue Jays moved on from him.
He then joined the Philadelphia Phillies for 2025, where he got a huge leash despite significant underperformance. He pitched 49 games and got 42.2 innings for the Phillies, but his numbers were poor. He had an 8.23 ERA and 1.452 WHIP. His 5.39 FIP suggests some bad luck, though. He struck out 47 batters and walked 17.
While these are both one-year reclamation projects for the Angels, they come to Anaheim in completely different career phases. Pomeranz is hoping to tack on some productive years to the end of his career, while Romano is trying to re-discover his All-Star form from two years ago.
Ideally, both can play major roles for an Angels bullpen that was one of the worst in baseball last season.
Angels pitching staff projection after additions
According to Fangraphs’ Roster Resource, here is where the Angels pitching staff stands after the additions of Pomeranz and Romano.
Starting Pitchers
Yusei Kikuchi
Jose Soriano
Reid Detmers
Grayson Rodriguez
Alek Manoah
Bullpen
Robert Stephenson
Brock Burke
Drew Pomeranz
Jordan Romano
Ryan Zeferjahn
Chase Silseth
Jose Fermin
Ben Joyce (Injured List)
