Blue Jays: Five players looking to bounce back in 2022

Nate Pearson

2021 was supposed to be Nate Pearson’s year.

After his debut season was cut short due to an arm injury, the starting rotation had a spot open for him for Opening Day this past April and fans were excited to see one of their top pitching prospects finally get a chance to shine on the big league stage for a full campaign.

Fast forward to the start of the campaign and a groin injury had Pearson on the shelf, delaying any potential Opening Day roster debut until 2023 at the earliest. A month later, Pearson pitched in Houston and struggled with his command, walking five batters and failing to make it to the third inning. A trip to the minors and some more time on the IL, Pearson didn’t return to the Blue Jays until towards the end of the season but was moved to the bullpen in a relief role. He did find success there, appearing in 11 games and pitching to a 2.84 ERA through 12.2 innings, but the long-term goal isn’t for the right-hander to be a bullpen arm.

While injury troubles have plagued Pearson for most of his professional career, a video on his personal Instagram showed that he was throwing and looked to be in good health after his offseason sports hernia surgery; a positive sign for fans and the club that he should be good to go come Spring Training (whenever that happens).

Whether he begins the season in the Majors or down in AAA, the biggest goal for Pearson is appearing in as many games as possible while trying to stay off the injured list. The Blue Jays will 100% have him on some sort of innings limit given the previous injury history, so hopefully, he makes the most of it before he either gets shut down or moved to the bullpen later in the season (if he isn’t there already).