Counsell, Crew have big plans for Pomeranz

OAKLAND -- This was Drew Pomeranz’s fifth time being traded in a professional career that has spanned nine seasons, and when a player is moved that regularly, he can sense it coming. That was the case for the 30-year-old left-hander, a free agent to be, who had been pitching well for the Giants since a move to the bullpen.

So when Pomeranz got word shortly before Wednesday’s Trade Deadline that he’d been dealt again, his only question was: Where to? A day later, he was in a Brewers uniform at the Oakland Coliseum.

“I thought maybe I might meet them [this weekend] in Chicago,” said Pomeranz, who had to fly across the country from Philadelphia, because the Giants had been on the road. “But they wanted me here today. So I got on the plane and I’m here today.”

Pomeranz, a 17-game winner for the Red Sox in 2017 who has not consistently found the same success since, made 17 starts for the Giants this season before they moved him to the bullpen. He responded by allowing only one hit over four scoreless outings before a trade that netted Pomeranz and fellow reliever Ray Black (who was optioned to Triple-A San Antonio) for infield prospect Mauricio Dubon.

The trade came amid a flurry of roster moves that continued Thursday, when Pomeranz and outfield prospect Trent Grisham joined the Brewers in Oakland. The Brewers optioned reliever Taylor Williams and infielder Tyler Saladino to San Antonio to open spots on the active roster, and designated reliever Jacob Barnes for assignment to open the one spot they needed on a full 40-man roster.

Pomeranz has a 5.68 ERA this season, but the Brewers like how he profiles in relief. Manager Craig Counsell saw a good spot for him in the seventh inning of Wednesday’s win over the A’s, when Jeremy Jeffress allowed a run, but held the lead against a left-handed-heavy portion of Oakland’s lineup.

“To me, that would be the inning he would have pitched,” Counsell said. “We’ll definitely find spots for him, and he’s going to have big spots.”

Pomeranz embraced the “anyone, any inning” mindset espoused by Brewers pitchers in the past few years.

“For me, it’s all the same,” he said. “Especially in today’s game, it’s all about getting outs. Quality over anything. If you can get outs, it doesn’t matter where you’re pitching. That’s kind of where I’ve narrowed my focus to.”

Last call

• Gio Gonzalez threw a bullpen session Thursday morning and was deemed “all good” to make his start as scheduled Saturday in Chicago, Counsell said. It will be Gonzalez’s second straight start against the Cubs; he carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning last week at Miller Park before exiting one batter into the seventh inning because of left shoulder tightness.

• While the rest of the team was getting caffeinated for Thursday’s 12:37 p.m. PT game against the A’s, Zach Davies was departing to catch a commercial flight to Chicago. The Brewers are in the midst of a road trip with games in three different time zones, which might be a regular occurrence for West Coast teams like Oakland, but is somewhat rare for Milwaukee.

• With Saladino optioned back to the Minors, the only middle infielders on the roster were starting second baseman Keston Hiura, who doesn’t play shortstop, and starting shortstop Orlando Arcia. So who was the backup should Arcia go down?

“It’ll be Travis [Shaw] or ‘Moose’ [Mike Moustakas],” Counsell said. “I don’t know that we’ll stay with this construction for long term. But today, likely it would be Moose.”