A healthy contingent of Padres fans would love to believe that Tuesday night at Petco Park, when Drew Pomeranz became the franchise’s third left-handed starter to pitch in an All-Star Game, was merely the beginning. Randy Jones and Dave Dravecky both stayed awhile after their inaugural appearances. Both went on to have multiple fine years in San Diego.

But the Padres’ current station is such that, with the exception of All-Star first baseman Wil Myers, the club is open to dealing anyone on its roster. That includes Pomeranz, who entered in the bottom of the fourth Tuesday and proceeded to throw a scoreless inning. In fact, the chatter surrounding the southpaw will only intensify after his cameo on a national stage.

× Drew Pomeranz on getting another shot

About 10 teams have inquired about Pomeranz’s availability, a source said Wednesday, and the Padres will listen on the 27-year-old leading up to the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline. In a pitching-thin market, San Diego will not part with Pomeranz for anything less than a substantial return, but the scarcity also could facilitate an offer too good to refuse.


Some rival officials have even suggested the Padres are actively looking to move Pomeranz. While that may be a matter of perception, there is significant incentive to sell high. Pomeranz is under club control through 2018. The Padres, having dramatically altered course since last season, are unlikely to contend before 2019.

Pomeranz’s track record, or lack thereof — he’s already surpassed 100 major league innings for the first time in his career — makes evaluators wary, but some believe he was unnecessarily shackled in the past. Meantime, the addition of an effective third pitch, a cut fastball, has convinced scouts that Pomeranz can sustain a reasonable level of success.

If Padres General Manager A.J. Preller does wind up dealing Pomeranz, he could find a suitable trade partner in Texas. FoxSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal reported Tuesday that the Rangers, in need of starting pitching, have done background work on Pomeranz. Union-Tribune sources have since confirmed that Texas has at least “kicked the tires” on the lefty.

The connection is of note. The Rangers drafted Pomeranz in 2007, and though he opted to attend college, they have followed his big-league progress more closely than most.


Preller, who spent 10 years in the Rangers’ front office, is said to be particularly interested in infielder Jurickson Profar, whom he helped bring into the organization and who has returned from injuries to impress this season. Prying away the 23-year-old likely would take a bit more than Pomeranz; still considered a future star by some, Jurickson won’t become eligible for free agency until after 2019.

Texas joins Boston, Baltimore and Miami as teams that recently have been linked to Pomeranz.

Pomeranz is no stranger to being traded. After being drafted fifth overall by Cleveland in 2010, the Ole Miss product was dealt to Colorado in 2011 and sent to Oakland two years later. Last December, he was part of a deal that has turned into a major victory for the Padres, who now have a potential frontline arm and a legitimate trade piece in their rotation.

“The first time I got traded, I was in the bullpen warming up for a game in Double-A and got called back in and got traded,” Pomeranz said this week. “So that was probably the craziest it could be. Once I got traded the next time, it got a little easier, and then I get traded the next time — it’s just part of it. It’s part of the game.”


Pomeranz did acknowledge it has been difficult to avoid the rumor mill.

“You see stuff, you hear stuff, you read it,” he said. “I would love to win. I like it here. I would love to win here as well. Just trying to get better every time out there and trying to repeat what I did in the first half in the second half.”

Asked if he had a preference if he were to be traded, Pomeranz said: “Not really. It really doesn’t matter if I worry about it or not, because whatever’s going to happen is going to happen. I learned that very quickly, getting traded my first year in pro ball. Just when you think you’re getting settled somewhere, something seems to happen.”