Nate Pearson is back, baby.
On Friday afternoon, the Blue Jays Twitter page announced that Nate Pearson has been recalled, while Bowden Francis has been optioned.
ROSTER MOVES:
RHP Nate Pearson recalled from Triple-A and will be active tonight
RHP Bowden Francis optioned to Triple-A pic.twitter.com/sniqxWeC6i
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) September 15, 2023
Francis, 27, was acquired in the Rowdy Tellez trade back in 2021, and had a great debut season with the Blue Jays in 2023. The righty has a 1.73 ERA and a 3.86 FIP in 36.1 innings pitched, along with a 25.7 K% and a 5.9 BB%. This is the fifth time Francis has been optioned, meaning that if he is recalled and optioned again, he must be put on waivers.
Bowden Francis (@Bowdenpoint0)’s curveball is NASTY pic.twitter.com/3D3OSCZJw8
— Brennan Delaney (@Brennan_L_D) August 6, 2023
Nate Pearson, also 27, was a part of the early season Blue Jays bullpen, where he posted a 5.18 ERA and a 4.91 FIP in 40 innings pitched, along with a 24.1 K% and a 9.4 BB%. Since his demotion in late July, Pearson has posted a 1.46 ERA and a 4.14 FIP in 12.1 innings pitched. Pearson has also struck out 32.1% of batters in the time, but has walked 17.9% of them as well. Notably, he has not allowed a walk since August 27th.
Nate Pearson strikeout thread! pic.twitter.com/B8DNdCtYX9
— Brennan Delaney (@Brennan_L_D) July 15, 2023
The reason why Francis was optioned is pretty clear. He pitched in three different games in the Texas series. Allowing just a single run in 4.1 innings pitched. Pearson has had some experience as a multi-inning reliever, as he’s gone more than an inning 13 times in his 33 games in the big leagues.
There’s a good chance that Pearson will see some innings if the score is out of hand, but I wouldn’t expect him in any high leverage situations for the remainder of the season. Hopefully, he can find that form that he had early in the season.
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