Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Nate Pearson throws to the Los...

Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Nate Pearson throws to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fifth inning of an MLB Tokyo Series baseball game in Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. Credit: AP/Eugene Hoshiko

HOUSTON — Right-hander Nate Pearson and the Houston Astros finalized a $1.35 million, one-year contract on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old can earn an additional $150,000 in performance bonuses: $50,000 each for 20 and 25 starts and $50,000 for 50 innings.

Pearson had a 9.20 ERA in 11 relief appearances this year for the Chicago Cubs, who released him Sept. 21. He was 3-2 with a 2.22 ERA and seven saves in one start and 37 relief appearances for Triple-A Iowa. He had a 1.14 WHIP and .175 opponents' batting average.

Selected by Toronto with the 28th pick in the 2017 amateur draft, Pearson pitched for the Blue Jays from 2020-24 and was traded to the Cubs in July 2024. He is 9-6 with a 5.17 ERA in six starts and 117 relief appearances.

His development was slowed when he broke the ulna bone in his right arm during his Florida State League debut on May 7, 2018, when struck by a line drive off the bat of Bradenton's Tyler Gaffney, ending Pearson's season.

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