Former Blue Jays top prospect Pearson thankful for change of scenery

CHICAGO — For Nate Pearson, the afternoon of July 27 was no different than any other Saturday. Get to the park, eat, treatment, throwing program, shag flyballs during batting practice. Just getting ready for a game.

It was the trade deadline and rumours abounded, but Pearson didn’t have reason to think he’d be on the move. Yimi Garcia had already been dealt from the Toronto Blue Jays' bullpen, and everyone knew Trevor Richards would be next, so Pearson figured the club would want to keep him around as a hard-throwing, cost-controlled reliever who could help them win in 2025 and beyond.

Plus, many of the players Toronto’s front office was having active trade discussions about had been made aware of that fact days prior. And no one pulled Pearson aside to say he could be traded. At least not until he was in the outfield shagging flyballs that Saturday.

“They called me in and I didn’t know what was happening. And then they told me I was going to Chicago. And I was like, ‘Wow, I’ve been with the Jays for eight years. And now I’m not,’” Pearson remembered Friday, standing at his locker in the Chicago Cubs clubhouse. “It definitely caught me off guard. I didn’t go to the field those last few days around the deadline thinking I was going to be the guy who got traded.”

Ultimately, Pearson was one of eight guys who got traded over five days of upheaval that saw the Blue Jays sell off all six of their pending free agents and two controllable players: Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Pearson.

The incentive to move Kiner-Falefa for Charles McAdoo — an athletic, toolsy infielder shooting up prospect rankings — was understandable. The impetus in moving Pearson for a pair of depth prospects — neither Yohendrick Pinango nor Josh Rivera appears on Baseball America’s updated ranking of the top 30 prospects in a shallow Blue Jays system — less so.

But after he said his goodbyes to whoever he could find in the Blue Jays clubhouse, hastily packed a couple bags in his downtown apartment, and raced to the airport to catch a 7 p.m. flight to meet the Cubs on the road, Pearson’s initial surprise wore off and he started to see the thought process.

“I kind of felt like my time was coming to move on from the Jays — for both sides to move on,” Pearson said. “It's nothing that the Jays did. It just felt like it was time for a change of scenery. Get new eyes on me and see if there's anything else that people see. Something that can help me out and progress my career a little more.”

Over his eight years in the organization — from first-round pick in 2016, to unanimous top-10 MLB prospect in 2020, to low-leverage reliever riding the option carousel between Buffalo and Toronto in 2023 — the Blue Jays tried just about everything to unlock Pearson’s obvious potential.

He started games; he pitched bulk relief; he tried to find footing as a one-inning leverage arm. His arsenal narrowed and expanded; he moved from one side of the rubber to the other; he experimented with an array of mechanical adjustments. After Pearson’s first few years in the Blue Jays organization were arrested by injury, his last few were marred by inconsistency. In all, he made 93 appearances for the Blue Jays over a half-decade, pitching to a 5.21 ERA across 115.2 innings.

“Coming up as a starter and then battling injuries for two years, unfortunately [the Blue Jays] had to move on and sign some guys. And I got pushed to the bullpen,” Pearson said. “They gave me opportunities. I just don't think I really settled into a certain role that they wanted. And, unfortunately, we had to move on. I'm thankful for my time there — they treated me really well. But I'm definitely also thankful to get a change of scenery and different vibes going.”

Now, the change-of-scenery candidate is an unempirical trope. We don’t have defined criteria for it. But even in this theoretical realm, Pearson checked some unmistakable boxes.

A physically gifted athlete with a tight end’s frame, 95th percentile fastball velocity, and multiple secondary pitches featuring above-average movement, who’s struggled to find the right formula to maximize those uncommon traits. A 27-year-old in his eighth year with the organization — and his final optionable season — who a procession of developers and pitching coaches have been unable to figure out.

There are more granular signs, too, that sometimes get lost in the broader shuffle. But, at the player’s level, they’re felt personally. Other players in your position get longer opportunities to work through rough patches. You’re bringing coaches more ideas for adjustments than they’re bringing you. You’re the one getting caught up in roster crunches despite performance.

And, in hindsight, the Blue Jays optioning Pearson this April after he began the season with six scoreless appearances in which he struck out over a third of the batters he faced was telling. That wasn’t the only move the Blue Jays could have made to open a roster spot. But Pearson never asked the organization for a trade, keeping his head down and continuing to search for the consistency that’s alluded him since his move to the bullpen.

Now, the risk in selling low on a change-of-scenery candidate is that their new organization finds the approach that finally helps them free up their unrealized ability. And, if anything, it’s likely the player will be more productive in their new environment merely due to positive regression. After all, most change-of-scenery candidates are seen as needing those new surroundings because they’ve underperformed. They have much more room to improve than decline.

Still, cautionary tales abound, including a pair of recent instances when the Blue Jays moved on from similarly hard-throwing relievers who thrived later in their careers.

Jeff Hoffman was a first-round pick like Pearson who the Blue Jays traded at the 2015 deadline. Now, two organizations later, he’s an all-star and one of MLB’s most effective leverage relievers at the back end of the Philadelphia Phillies bullpen.

Julian Merryweather was an oft-injured right-hander with obvious arm talent like Pearson who the club designated for assignment in January 2023. The Cubs claimed him off waivers and watched as he pitched to a 3.38 ERA over 72 innings while striking out a third of the batters he faced that season.

“I think Nate's grown up a lot,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “This year, he’s really understanding how to pitch a bit more and not just rely on his stuff. You know, he's been through a lot. I don't know what it's like to be a No. 1 prospect and to have the whole world know every move you make. And he handled it really well. So, yeah, it's tough to see him go.

“Whenever you're trading someone, there's always risk that they go somewhere, they change something or do something different, and they're great.”

That’s certainly what the Cubs believe can happen. On only his second day with the organization, Pearson was presented with a suite of adjustments Chicago felt would help him on the mound. Moving back to where he originally was on the rubber. Structuring a medicine ball routine to improve his weight transfer down the mound. Leaning into his slider more than he was at the end of his Blue Jays tenure.

Of course, the Blue Jays tried a million and one things with Pearson themselves, and nothing quite took. Ultimately, it’s a player’s responsibility to take ownership of their career and not walk away from the game wondering what could’ve been. But baseball teaches us development is rarely linear. And Pearson still has plenty of runway to master that space between stimulus and response.

“I'm always down to try new things, especially if they'll help me out in any sort of way. And feeling the energy with how excited the Cubs were to have me, that definitely feels pretty good,” Pearson said. “It's been pretty cool to hear about some of the different stuff they want me to work on, getting information and feedback. And not feeling like I'm just on my own figuring stuff out.”