The Astros plan to work Pearson as a starter.
The Astros are in agreement with right-handed pitcher Nate Pearson on a one-year, $1.35 million contract, pending physical, source tells @TheAthletic.
Former Blue Jay Nate Pearson signs big league deal with Astros
Photo credit: © David Frerker-Imagn Images
Oct 17, 2025, 16:30 EDTUpdated: Oct 17, 2025, 16:14 EDT
A former Toronto Blue Jay has found a new home.
On Friday afternoon. The Athletic’s Chandler Rome reported that the Houston Astros have signed Nate Pearson to a one-year big league deal worth $1.35 million. Additionally, they plan to use him as a starter.
Pearson, 29, was drafted 28th overall by the Blue Jays in the 2017 draft. After a strong end to the 2017 season, the flame-throwing right-handed pitcher spent most of the 2018 season on the Injured List, first with an oblique injury, then with a broken ulna. Pearson broke out in 2019, posting a 2.30 ERA in 101.2 innings pitched between High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A.
In 2020, he ranked as MLB Pipeline’s eighth-best prospect in baseball, and he even made his big league debut that season. It didn’t go well, as Pearson had a 6 ERA in 18 innings pitched over four starts. Pearson spent time on the Injured List in 2021 before returning to the big leagues in September of that year.
The 29-year-old didn’t pitch in the big leagues in 2022, but he became a mainstay in the Blue Jays bullpen in 2023 and 2024, pitching 82.2 innings. Before the 2024 trade deadline, the Blue Jays traded him to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Yohendrick Piñango and Josh Rivera, a trade that has the makings of a steal given Piñango’s breakout in 2025.
Finishing the 2024 season with the Cubs, Pearson had a 2.73 ERA and 3.96 FIP in 26.1 innings pitched. He didn’t find the same success with the National League Central team in 2025, authoring a 9.20 ERA and 6.20 FIP in 14.2 innings pitched before being designated for assignment on September 20.
The fact that the Astros are going to try to use him as a starter is interesting, as he’s made just six starts in his 123 big league appearances. Like most relievers, Pearson spent significant time as a starter coming up the minor leagues, but the Jays decided he’d relieve during the 2021 season. He never started for the Jays again.
Maybe the Astros can unlock the potential he showed coming up. He has an upper-90s fastball, an upper-80s slider, and a nasty knuckle curveball with plenty of extension. It’s a low-risk, high-reward type of signing for the Astros.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.