#nate pearson

Blue Jays Fireballer Nate Pearson Is Back: How His Triple-Digit Heat Could Ignite Toronto’s Playoff Push

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nate pearson
The Houston Astros made one of the first splashes of the 2025 MLB offseason on Friday, agreeing to a one-year, $1.35 million deal with flame-throwing right-hander Nate Pearson, according to multiple reports. The move reunites Houston with a former top prospect whose triple-digit fastball once headlined minor-league scouting reports and immediately strengthens a bullpen that is expected to lose several veteran relievers to free agency. Pearson, 28, enters Minute Maid Park after splitting the 2024 campaign between the Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs. Across a career-high 60 appearances (one start), the righty posted a 2-2 record with a 4.48 ERA and 76 strikeouts over 66.1 innings, holding opponents to a .224 batting average while occasionally touching 101 mph on the radar gun. Those numbers represented a step forward from his injury-marred early seasons and were enough for Houston’s front office to bet on more upside in 2025. For the Astros, Pearson projects as a high-leverage option capable of bridging the gap to closer Ryan Pressly. Manager Joe Espada will be searching for swing-and-miss weapons after Houston ranked in the middle of the pack in bullpen strikeout rate last season. Pearson’s fastball/slider combo generated a 31 percent whiff rate in Chicago, and advanced metrics such as xERA (3.78) and FIP (3.60) suggest even better results could follow with the Astros’ analytically driven pitching infrastructure. The signing also provides roster flexibility. Because Pearson has a minor-league option remaining, Houston can shuttle him between Triple-A Sugar Land and the big-league club without exposing him to waivers, something the Cubs did effectively during the second half of 2024. That’s valuable insurance as the Astros monitor the workloads of young righties Hunter Brown and Spencer Arrighetti and weigh multi-inning bullpen roles for J.P. France and Seth Martinez. Pearson, the 28th overall pick in the 2017 draft, once ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 7 overall prospect thanks to a fastball that routinely sat 97-99 mph and a wipeout slider. Tommy John surgery in 2018 and recurring lat and oblique strains slowed his ascent, but his underlying “stuff” has remained elite. Opposing hitters managed just a .191 average against his slider last season, and his average fastball velocity (98.3 mph) would have been the highest on the Astros’ 2024 staff. Financially, the $1.35 million guarantee represents a low-risk gamble for Houston and gives Pearson a chance to rebuild value ahead of his third year of arbitration. If he clicks, the Astros control him through 2027, adding long-term bullpen depth without sacrificing prospect capital. Houston still has holes to fill—most notably a left-handed reliever and back-end rotation depth—but bringing in Pearson signals an aggressive approach by general manager Dana Brown. With the AL West rival Rangers returning much of their championship core, every marginal upgrade matters, and harnessing Pearson’s power arm could be one of this winter’s most underrated moves. Astros fans can expect Pearson to be introduced at the club’s annual FanFest later this month. For a franchise that has specialized in polishing electric arms, the signing offers both immediate strikeout potential and the tantalizing possibility that the once-hyped prospect finally blossoms into the late-inning weapon scouts envisioned.

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