TORONTO -- The Blue Jays have made their second move of the Trade Deadline, sending reliever Nate Pearson to the Cubs for a pair of prospects on Saturday afternoon.

Toronto acquired 23-year-old infielder Josh Rivera, Chicago’s No. 23 prospect, and 22-year-old outfielder Yohendrick Pinango, Chicago’s No. 29 prospect. The deal, which was first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan, has not yet been confirmed by the club.

News of the trade broke just moments after the Blue Jays announced that current No. 1 prospect Ricky Tiedemann will undergo Tommy John surgery on Tuesday, ending his 2024 season and potentially taking all of ‘25 with it. Prior to Tiedemann skyrocketing up the ranks, it was Pearson who the Blue Jays dreamed of as their No. 1 starter, ranking as the No. 8 prospect in all of baseball as one of the most promising young arms in the sport.

That clearly hasn’t materialized. Pearson battled injuries for years and has since made the transition to the bullpen. It’s been a classic story of a former top prospect, showing remarkable flashes of talent along the way but never quite putting it all together consistently. This season, Pearson has a 5.63 ERA with 51 strikeouts over 40 innings.

Pearson is still just 27 years old and under control through the 2026 season, making him a sensible upside play for a contender looking to strike gold. This also represents the Blue Jays stretching beyond their expiring deals at this Trade Deadline, which kicked off Friday when they sent Yimi García to the Mariners for outfielder Jonatan Clase, the club’s new No. 7 prospect.

TRADE DETAILS:
Blue Jays get: SS Josh Rivera, OF Yohendrick Pinango
Cubs get: RHP Nate Pearson

Rivera is a strong fielder, but has struggled in Double-A with a .169 average and .537 OPS over 68 games. Rivera was a third-round pick just a year ago out of the University of Florida, though, and given the Blue Jays’ scouting presence in Florida, they surely have a good feel for Rivera and his potential upside.

Pinango, on the other hand, is primarily a left fielder and is hitting .263 with nine home runs and a .797 OPS between High-A and Double-A this season for the Cubs. This adds more position-player depth to the Blue Jays’ system, and while this organization still needs more top-end talent to help shape its next core, adding some quantity in a deal for Pearson is a fine step.

Pinango now joins an outfield prospect depth group led by Clase, who came over in the García deal, and Alan Roden, the on-base machine currently ranked as Toronto’s No. 8 prospect who has gotten off to a slow start since being promoted to Triple-A. Given the pending departure of Kevin Kiermaier, Daulton Varsho is expected to slide to center field on a full-time basis in 2025 and beyond, leaving left field wide open for either a full-time starter or someone to platoon with Davis Schneider.

This is not expected to be Toronto’s final move by any means. Yusei Kikuchi said after Friday’s win that he spoke with general manager Ross Atkins recently, who told Kikuchi there is a “pretty high likelihood” he will be traded. Danny Jansen, Justin Turner and Kiermaier are other options for the Blue Jays to trade on expiring deals while names like Chad Green and Isiah Kiner-Falefa could come up with control remaining in 2025.

Pearson’s departure so soon after Garcia’s will also swing the door wide open for someone to step up and seize an opportunity in Toronto’s bullpen, which ranks 29th in baseball with a 4.95 ERA, better than only the Rockies.