Former Blue Jays reliever resurfaces with NL Central powerhouse

He just keeps popping up! Brampton, Ontario native Zach Pop has signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs. He'll be assigned to their Triple-A team in Iowa.

This is the fourth different organization that the right-handed reliver has been a part during the 2025 season. He began the year with the Toronto Blue Jays but was released in April after coming off the injured list. Pop then pitched in a combined five outings with the Seattle Mariners and the New York Yankees before being released by the Bronx Bombers earlier this month.

In those outings, Pop allowed 12 runs (11 earned) in 6.2 innings pitched, with four home runs allowed. He's finding himself in a tough spot as he is out of options, which means any team that signs him will only have one chance to bring him up to the big league roster. If they don't like what they see, they can demote him, and put him on waivers, but then Pop is free to sign with any other team - which has happened three times now within just a few short weeks.

Pop was originally acquired by the Blue Jays in August of 2022 when Toronto sent Jordan Groshans to the Miami Marlins in exchange for Anthony Bass and Pop. During his three seasons in Toronto, Pop went 5-5 with an ERA of 4.89 in 81 innings pitched out of the bullpen. He had a really good 17 outing stretch just after that trade in which he pitched 19 innings and allowed just four earned runs for a Blue Jays team that made it to the post-season. He also appeared in one playoff game for his home town Blue Jays.

Pop was also part of the trade that sent Manny Machado to the Los Angeles Dodgers. A seventh-round pick of LA in 2017, they packaged him with four players and sent him to Baltimore in exchange for the perennial All-Star. Pop's tenure in Baltimore lasted two seasons, before the Diamondbacks selected him in the Rule 5 Draft in 2020. He was traded later that same day from Arizona to Miami.

He could be an important depth piece for the Cubs who are in a tight race with the Milwaukee Brewers for the NL Central lead. While Pop doesn't have a ton of swing and miss stuff he throws a very hard fastball and a sinker that sits at 96 MPH. With just a week to go to the deadline, the Cubs could utilize his services as they contemplate other areas of improvement.