MLB Trade Grades: Cubs land Nate Pearson and are betting on his potential

By Zack Meisel, C. Trent Rosecrans and Cody Stavenhagen

Blue Jays get: LF Yohendrick Pinango and SS Josh Rivera

Zack Meisel: One of the more exciting projects for any coaching staff (and for the analysts holding data-spewing iPads in the bullpen) is to try to help a former prized prospect with a vaunted fastball realize his potential. Every organization makes the same declaration: We can fix him. (OK, maybe not the Rockies.) That’s what the Cubs will attempt to do with Pearson, who pairs a 98-mph heater with a slider that induces a bunch of swing-and-miss. If they can figure out why that fastball has been whacked around this season, perhaps Pearson, who turns 28 next month, can remind everyone why he was a consensus Top 25 prospect a few years ago.

The swap is more interesting because it involves two teams that failed in their bids to legitimately contend this season. Both teams have an eye toward next year. Whether they’re foolishly trying to convince themselves everything will be better in 2025 or that actually reflects reality is another conversation. The Blue Jays already traded away reliever Yimi Garcia. Pearson shouldn’t be the last player they ship elsewhere. The Cubs are doing some rearranging, too, and when you’re in last place in the NL Central, you can afford to run some trials on once highly-touted flamethrowers. For Toronto, this is a symbol of unfulfilled pitching development and a lost season.

Neither team, though, wanted to be in this position executing a reclamation project-for-fringe-prospects deal at the trade deadline.

Cubs: B
Blue Jays: C+

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C. Trent Rosecrans: For the Cubs, this could be hoping a change of scenery helps Pearson, who throws hard but gets hit hard. Pearson can miss bats — especially with his two breaking pitches, a slider and curveball — but hitters feast on his fastball.

A former first-rounder, Pearson has talent and that lively fastball, which averages 97.6 mph, so perhaps it’s as simple as a different voice in his ear leading to different results. Pearson has two years of team control, so it’s worth taking a chance on something clicking, if not this year, then in 2025 and 2026.

On the Blue Jays’ side, Pearson wasn’t working out for them and now they get a lottery ticket. It’s possible the team would have non-tendered Pearson in the offseason, so instead of doing that, they get something in return for Pinango, who will be Rule 5 eligible this winter if not added to the 40-man roster, and Rivera, who was a third-round pick last year out of the University of Florida.

Cubs: B
Blue Jays: B

The @BlueJays get Josh Rivera, 23, 3rd round ’23 hitting .169 at AA in 68 games. At U of FL in ’23 hit .348 with 19 HR 72 RBI and 18 SB; Yohendrick Pinango, 22, from VZ is OF hitting .263 w/ OBP .363 with 18 2B 9 HR between A and AA.

— Jim Bowden⚾️ (@JimBowdenGM) July 27, 2024

Cody Stavenhagen: We all know the report on Pearson. He’s never quite met expectations. But he still has some good things going for him, including a 28 percent strikeout rate and a 28.3 percent whiff rate. That’s enough to catch the eye of any savvy front office.

Pearson upped his slider usage this season and had a ton of success with that pitch despite how hittable his fastball has been. Might he start spinning even more sliders in Chicago? The Cubs get two-plus years of team control and are basically taking a gambit and hoping they can unlock a better version of Pearson. It’s potentially a smart way to build a bullpen — acquire a bunch of power arms on the cheap and do everything you can to fix them.

The Blue Jays, meanwhile, are trading a pitcher who has become expendable and adding a little talent to their organization. They’re taking an interesting approach to this deadline here, trying to reshape their franchise while avoiding a full-on fire sale. Both players coming back profile more as bench bats in the future, so this probably isn’t the move that brings them impactful help.

Cubs: B
Blue Jays: C+

(Photo of Nate Pearson: Mark Blinch / Getty Images)

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