When the Royals went looking for help in the bullpen overhaul they were building in the second half, Nate Pearson was a name they had circled for a long time.
The interest had been there for years, but the timing never worked out until the Astros designated Pearson for assignment in July. Kansas City moved quickly, working out a trade with Houston to bring in the hard-throwing right-hander, and now he’s become a real part of the late-inning mix.
General manager J.J. Picollo said the bullpen shuffle was necessary as the Royals tried to steady the unit.
“When a bullpen is struggling, sometimes you just need to do those things,” general manager J.J. Picollo said of the bullpen churn. “We started to turn it in the latter part of July, and now we’re starting to see some good results, and maybe some pieces that will help us moving forward.”
Pearson, who is under team control for another season, has given them exactly the kind of power arm they were hoping to uncover. After easing him in, the Royals have started using him in the back end of games, and he’s responded with a 0.53 ERA over 17 innings. In that stretch, he has allowed just one run on nine hits with six walks and 15 strikeouts.
For Pearson, the role is new territory.
“It’s definitely the first time in my career that I feel like I’ve been part of a leverage role, either closing or just coming in when we’re winning in the eighth or whatever inning,” Pearson said. “It’s been fun. That’s my role right now, and I’m excited to keep it going.”
With a 98 mph fastball and finishing pitches in his slider and curveball, Pearson has settled in as the setup man for closer Steven Cruz, though Matt Quatraro could flip the two depending on the matchup. The two relievers still have some rough edges as they settle into those jobs, but they’ve brought something the Royals’ bullpen has lacked much of the year: strikeout ability.
Pearson has always had the arm to miss bats. The challenge has been putting it together consistently.
That issue followed him through a run with the Blue Jays, where he was once a top prospect before injuries piled up, then into a bullpen conversion in Toronto, and later to the Cubs, who acquired him in 2024 for two prospects. He posted a 2.73 ERA in 19 appearances for Chicago that season, but he couldn’t carry that forward in 2025 and was designated for assignment in September.
The Astros took a shot on him this offseason with a one-year deal, initially hoping he could crack their rotation. That plan changed after elbow surgery, but he was able to join Houston’s bullpen in May and put up a 3.60 ERA in 16 appearances. That combination of production and track record made him an appealing target again when the Royals came calling.
“When you look at our advanced analytics, there’s a lot of things that jumped off the page,” Picollo said. “Plus you look at our scouting reports.
The fastball has always been an outlier. The slider has been inconsistent, but when he can be in the zone with his fastball and slider, we’re seeing what he can do.”
The slider has become Pearson’s primary secondary pitch after the fastball, and it has produced a 24.7% whiff percentage this year. Even more intriguing has been the curveball, which he set out to sharpen coming into the season. He’s thrown it only 12.5% of the time, but it has generated a 47.6% whiff percentage.
“It’s inconsistent at times in the zone,” Pearson said. “But if I’m able to land it for strikes, and finish guys off with it, I get a lot of success with it. I think just showing it early in the count, that I can throw it for a strike, makes them think or respect it later in the count, that they’ve got to put a swing on it.”
Quatraro has noticed something else too: how unbothered Pearson looks when the game tightens up.
“I really like the calmness he’s brought to his outings,” Quatraro said. “He’s been in a lot of different situations in his career, from being, early in his career, a top prospect, starting pitcher, reliever.
Just the opportunity he’s made for himself here -- we gave him an opportunity to be on the team, but he’s earned everything he’s gotten from that spot on. It’s been really impressive to watch.
He’s fit in tremendously well with the guys. He’s embracing whatever role he comes in.
It’s been fun.”
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