Blue Jays trade relief pitcher Nate Pearson to Cubs

The Toronto Blue Jays have dealt right-handed reliever Nate Pearson to the Chicago Cubs, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi and Arden Zwelling reported on Saturday.

ESPN’s Jesse Rogers and Jeff Passan were the first to report.

The return package for Toronto was not initially reported.

Pearson, 27, has a 5.63 ERA in 41 appearances with the Blue Jays this season. He has 51 strikeouts in 41 innings pitched.

He was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 1st round of the 2017 amateur draft, 28th overall. He ranked as high as the 10th-best prospect and third-best pitching prospect in MLB’s final 2019 ranking.

However, he hasn’t met his lofty expectations so far over his four years in the majors. He has a 7-4 record with a 5.21 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 115.2 innings pitched.

The Blue Jays initially used Pearson as a starter, coming out of the bullpen for only one of his five appearances during his rookie year in 2020. He hasn’t started for Toronto since the 2021 season.

The Blue Jays also announced that pitcher Ricky Tiedemann will undergo Tommy John surgery on his left elbow next week.

Manager John Schneider revealed the news Saturday after the 21-year-old top pitching prospect visited specialists Dr. Keith Meister and Dr. Neal ElAttrache for second and third opinions on his troublesome elbow.

ElAttrache will perform the procedure on Tuesday, effectively ruling Tiedemann out of factoring into the Blue Jays mix in 2025. Health issues limited him to 62 innings last season and just 17.1 innings this season.