In this late stage of his career, Drew Pomeranz went from sitting at home last season in Southern California, contemplating retirement after a three-year absence from the majors, to pitching in all four playoff games the Chicago Cubs won in October, then working as the opener the night their season ended.That history, combined with the desperate state of the Cubs’ pitching staff, makes the team believe Pomeranz is poised for a similar turnaround this year. With a slow-moving market for trades and four weeks to go until the Aug. 3 deadline, the Cubs want to see if the 6-foot-5 lefty reliever can still be trusted in big moments.Pomeranz, 37, parlayed his bounce-back season into a one-year, $4 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels in December. He spent part of May on the injured list with left elbow inflammation and was 0-3 with a 5.01 ERA before being designated for assignment June 15. It seemed like a quick hook.Within the week, Pomeranz signed a minor-league contract with the Cubs. Four days later, the Angels fired general manager Perry Minasian, who had not overseen a winning campaign in five-plus seasons (392-500) on the job. The Cubs gave Pomeranz two appearances at Triple-A Iowa before adding him to their active roster over the Fourth of July weekend.Why this July will be an exciting month for MLBKen Rosenthal and Johnny Sweet“They have all the information,” Pomeranz said of the Cubs organization. “They know what made me good last year. I understand those things, too, so it’s just having those people to talk to about things: ‘Hey, this part looks different than last year. That part looks different than last year. The velo is a little down.’ I had been working on some stuff in Anaheim. I was kind of working by myself a little bit.”It cost the Cubs $1 to acquire Pomeranz from the Seattle Mariners last season. At that point, he had not pitched in the majors since 2021, but he used an upward mobility clause in his contract with Seattle’s Triple-A affiliate to get to Wrigley Field. Over his first 26 appearances with the Cubs, he did not allow an earned run, a streak of 23 1/3 innings.