Blue Jays To Be Without Key Pitcher For "Some Time"

He was expected to be a critical "X-Factor" out of the Toronto Blue Jays bullpen, but that will have to wait, as former top prospect Nate Pearson has been diagnosed with mono. 

Nate Pearson has mono & will be out “a while,” manager Charlie Montoyo says #BlueJays

— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) April 5, 2022

Manager Charlie Montoyo says Pearson will be out "a while." It's normally the kind of thing that could take at least a few weeks to recover from. 

As noted by Jays play-by-play man Dan Shulman on MLB Network Radio today, Pearson was "as big a pitching prospect as there was in the game" three years ago. But he's suffered a number of injuries himself over the last three years, including breaking his arm after being hit by a line drive, then suffering an elbow problem, and following that up with a sports hernia that derailed his 2021 season. Now the mono. 

According to Shulman, "the arm is still good. He's certainly got the stuff where he's got a chance to have success as a high-impact reliever."

The 25-year-old only managed to pitch two innings this spring. 

Hopefully, the news that Julian Merryweather has made the major league roster will take some of the sting out of losing Pearson. Merryweather has flashed some nasty stuff in his very brief appearances with the Jays, but he himself has also fought off an assortment of injuries throughout his career. 

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