Toronto Blue Jays need to control Nate Pearson’s service time
With a spot in the starting rotation up for grabs, the Toronto Blue Jays need to think about Neate Pearson’s service time when thinking about calling him up.
Looking at the Toronto Blue Jays projected rotation heading into the season, it was clear that Nate Pearson was always going to have a tough road to get on the opening day roster. This is not even because of his doing or even what the team wants to do.
With the MLB’s service time rules, the Blue Jays can gain an extra year of service if they hold Pearson back a week. It seems like a no-brainer for a couple of reasons. The first one being the fact that it is a lot easier to wait a week instead of a month or two in a normal season.
More from Tip of the Tower
- Cam Phillips making his mark on Toronto Argonauts offence
- Toronto Argonauts: 4 storylines ahead of matchup against Redblacks
- Federico Bernardeschi ready for new challenge with Toronto FC
- Toronto Argonauts overcome Roughriders in entertaining Touchdown Atlantic
- Buffalo Bills: Von Miller drawing inspiration from Bruce Smith
On top of that, keeping around elite starting pitching continues to be a challenge for MLB teams unless you are willing to spend a good chunk of change when they get close to free agency. If you are the Blue Jays, why not maximize the amount of time you have Pearson at a reasonable number because it will allow the team to make other additions.
Eventually, Pearson will get himself at the front of the rotation and for the time being, the Blue Jays have other options that they can use in the rotation like Ryan Borucki, Anthony Kay, T.J. Zeuch and Thomas Hatch. There isn’t a pressing need to get Pearson on the mound in the first week of the season.
Some will complain that this is a tactic for the Blue Jays to save money but in this situation, it’s a smart decision. The Blue Jays were willing to pay over slot for Austin Martin because they wanted to assure that they secured an important piece of their future.
The Blue Jays will also benefit from holding back Pearson in case of injury or needing an option later in the season if they are in a chance to compete. Who knows, the team might be in line to give Pearson more innings if they decide to make some moves prior to the trade deadline.
All this saying that there should be less negativity against the decision to have Pearson wait because thinking over the long will ensure that the contending window can stay open longer.
Related Story. Buffalo still an option for home games in 2020. light
Do you think the Blue Jays should hold back Pearson to start the season? When should he be making his debut? Let us know in the comments below.