Zachery Michael Pop (born September 20, 1996) is a Canadian professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

Career

Amateur

Pop attended Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School in

Brampton, Ontario Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...

. He was drafted by the

in the 23rd round of the

2014 Major League Baseball Draft The 2014 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June 6, and the last 30 round ...

, but did not sign and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

. In 2016, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

for the

Wareham Gatemen The Wareham Gatemen are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Wareham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Gatemen play their home games at Clem Spillane Fie ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

Los Angeles Dodgers

Pop was drafted by the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

in the seventh round, with the 220th overall selection, of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft. He signed and made his professional debut with the rookie-level Arizona League Dodgers, pitching five scoreless innings. In 2018, Pop began the year with the Single-A

Great Lakes Loons The Great Lakes Loons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Midland, Michigan, and play their home games at Dow Diamond, which opened in April 2007. Hist ...

before being promoted to the High-A

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and play their home games at LoanMart Field. The franc ...

Baltimore Orioles

On July 18, 2018, Pop was traded to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

along with Breyvic Valera, Dean Kremer, Yusniel Diaz, and

Rylan Bannon Rylan Thomas Bannon (born April 22, 1996) is an American professional baseball third baseman who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, and Houston Astros. Amateur care ...

in exchange for

Manny Machado Manuel Arturo Machado (; born July 6, 1992) is an American professional baseball third baseman and shortstop for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). Highly recruited from an early age, he was raised in Miami, where he attende ...

. He was assigned to the Double-A

Bowie Baysox The Chesapeake Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. From 1993 to 2024, th ...

and finished the season there. In 44 relief appearances between Great Lakes, Rancho Cucamonga, and Bowie, Pop compiled a 2–3 record with a 1.53 ERA and 64 strikeouts. He returned to Bowie to begin 2019, and went 1–0 with a 0.84 ERA and 11 strikeouts in innings. On May 14, 2019, Pop underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

, and missed the remainder of the season. Pop did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Miami Marlins

On December 10, 2020, Pop was selected by the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

in the

Rule 5 Draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. Shortly after, Pop was traded to the

in exchange for Tyler Jones. Pop made the Marlins'

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

roster. On April 3, 2021, Pop made his MLB debut, pitching a scoreless inning of relief against the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

. He made 50 appearances for the Marlins during his rookie campaign, posting a 1-0 record and 4.12 ERA with 51 strikeouts across innings pitched. Pop pitched in 18 games for Miami during the 2022 season, registering as 2-0 record and 3.60 ERA with 14 strikeouts over 20 innings of work.

Toronto Blue Jays

On August 2, 2022, the Marlins traded Pop, Anthony Bass, and a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

(named Edward Duran on August 31) to the

in exchange for prospect Jordan Groshans. He made 17 relief outings for Toronto down the stretch, posting a 2-0 record and 1.89 ERA with 11 strikeouts over 19 innings of work. Pop made the Blue Jays'

roster in 2023. In 15 games for Toronto, he struggled to a 6.59 ERA with 14 strikeouts across innings pitched. Pop was optioned to the Triple–A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

to begin the 2024 season. He made 58 appearances out of the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

for the Blue Jays during the campaign, compiling a 2-4 record and 5.59 ERA with 33 strikeouts and one save across innings pitched. Pop was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

by the Blue Jays on March 27, 2025. He was released by the Blue Jays organization on April 2.

Seattle Mariners

On April 16, 2025, Pop signed a minor league contract with the

. In 11 appearances for the rookie-level Arizona Complex League Mariners and Triple-A

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, ...

, he compiled a 2-1 record and 2.79 ERA with nine strikeouts and one save across innings pitched. On June 13, the Mariners selected Pop's contract, adding him to their active roster.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pop, Zach Living people 1996 births Sportspeople from Brampton Major League Baseball players from Canada 21st-century Canadian sportsmen Major League Baseball pitchers Miami Marlins players Toronto Blue Jays players Seattle Mariners players Kentucky Wildcats baseball players St. Cloud Rox players Wareham Gatemen players Arizona League Dodgers players Great Lakes Loons players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Bowie Baysox players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Dunedin Blue Jays players Arizona Complex League Mariners players Tacoma Rainiers players