Blue Jays getting Pearson back at right time

Nate Pearson is back, and the timing couldn’t be better for the Blue Jays. After missing over a month of action with a flexor strain in his right elbow, the Blue Jays’ No. 1 prospect was activated from the injured list prior to Thursday’s series finale against the Yankees in

Nate Pearson is back, and the timing couldn’t be better for the Blue Jays.

After missing over a month of action with a flexor strain in his right elbow, the Blue Jays’ No. 1 prospect was activated from the injured list prior to Thursday’s series finale against the Yankees in Buffalo, N.Y. In a corresponding move, right-hander Wilmer Font was designated for assignment.

Pearson has slowly built himself back up, and he threw a live batting-practice session earlier this week, but the big right-hander is expected to work exclusively out of the bullpen given how little time remains for him to stretch out. That still offers the Blue Jays a tantalizing option with series-changing upside, though — and it features some parallels to another top young arm from 2015.

When the Blue Jays made their grand return to the playoffs that season after more than two decades, Aaron Sanchez was a force out of the bullpen. He split the regular season between the bullpen and the rotation, but he made nine relief appearances in the American League Division Series and the AL Championship Series, pitching 7 1/3 innings with just one unearned run allowed.

Pearson’s case is still unique, but there are plenty of blueprints on the 2020 roster for him to follow.

“The other guys who have made that move this year — Thomas Hatch, Anthony Kay, Ryan Borucki and all of those guys — have done a great job,” manager Charlie Montoyo said. “I see Pearson doing the same thing, but again, let’s see how he does and how long it takes him to warm up and all of that stuff, because he’s never done it before.”

Part of that equation will be how the Blue Jays get Pearson hot in the bullpen. Pearson has long said that he feels he pitches better as the game goes on, and he typically finds the top end of his elite fastball velocity closer to the middle innings instead of the first.

“If we have the chance, of course, we’ll let him know the inning before that he’s got the next inning, so he’ll have a full inning to get loose,” Montoyo said.

As it stands, Pearson’s likeliest role would be following a starter out of the bullpen for one or two innings. Montoyo wants to see him at least once over the final handful of regular-season games, though, and if he comes out pumping upper-90s heat right off the bat, that could open a few more doors, including higher-leverage innings or even an opener role.

Romano inching closer to returnReliever Jordan Romano is scheduled to throw another bullpen session on Friday, and he is nearing a return of his own. As the breakout star of Toronto’s bullpen, with a 1.23 ERA earlier this season before hitting the IL with a pulley strain in his right middle finger, Romano would be another massive addition for the postseason.

Romano’s situation does differ a bit from Pearson’s. While the Blue Jays would love to see Romano get an inning in over the weekend, for example, the door is open to him returning for the playoffs without doing so.

“We’ll see what he looks like, but it’s nothing new for Jordan to come back and pitch out of the bullpen,” Montoyo said. “It’s something new for Nate to come out of the bullpen, who’s never done it before, but they’re different cases.”

Tellez progressing through knee injuryRowdy Tellez is working through “running progression” and taking batting practice thrown by coaches in the batting cages, Montoyo said Thursday.

Tellez’s right knee strain was expected to wipe out the rest of his 2020 season, playoffs included, and while Montoyo doesn’t expect him to return in the next four days, a postseason return is surprisingly possible at some point. Tellez would need to face some live pitching, which is possible given the number of extra arms the Blue Jays have in their 40-man postseason player pool.

Keegan Matheson is a reporter/editor for MLB.com based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter @KeeganMatheson.