Nate Pearson back in the big leagues as Blue Jays place fellow pitcher on IL

This year's version of the Toronto Blue Jays have already seen multiple players shuffled on and off the injured list. Each of Danny Jansen, Erik Swanson, Alek Manoah and Jordan Romano all opened the year on the shelf. Fortunately, 75% of the group has since returned to the active roster.

One of the players that benefitted from trips to the IL was right-hander Nate Pearson, a former top prospect of the Jays that has yet to fully live up to the hype. He started off his season with six scoreless innings, but was still a roster casualty, along with Mitch White, when Romano and Swanson returned.

Pearson was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo, where he hadn't made a single appearance yet before Saturday, when he was called back up to the big leagues. According to Sportsnet's Shi Davidi, Chad Green is going on the IL with a right teres major strain.

Green had been unavailable during the past few games with what had been described as shoulder soreness, which checks out as the strained muscle is located in the upper back and is responsible for shoulder extension, adduction, and internal rotation.

Typical roster rules wouldn't allow Pearson, 27, to be recalled to the big leagues until he had been in the minor leagues for 15 days (10 days for position players). However, if he's being recalled as a replacement for someone heading to the injured list, there's an exception to be made.

So Pearson is back, where he will continue to function in his low-leverage role. While he never quite turned into the dominant starter or even the shutdown closer that he had occasionally looked like over the years, he is now carving out a role for himself at the game's highest level.

Green, 32, has seven appearances of 2.35 ERA-ball under his belt to kick off the 2024 season. The nine-year veteran has extensive experience in a variety of different bullpen roles and will fill an important role for the Jays this year once he gets his arm situation squared away.