Blue Jays’ Nate Pearson suffers mild re-aggravation of groin injury

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Nate Pearson has suffered a mild re-aggravation of his groin strain while throwing a bullpen during his recovery from the injury, general manager Ross Atkins told reporters Tuesday.

#BlueJays news: Nate Pearson (right groin) had a setback while working his way back to action. GM Ross Atkins called it a “mild re-aggravation.”

Jays will re-evaluate Pearson in the coming days to determine next steps. At this point, certainly seems likely he opens season on IL

— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) March 16, 2021

Nate Pearson will not make the Blue Jays opening day roster.

GM Ross Atkins just told us that Pearson
suffered a “mild re-aggravation of the groin” while throwing a bullpen. More of a timeline will be known later in the week.

— Arash Madani (@ArashMadani) March 16, 2021

The oft-injured 24-year-old flame thrower will be re-evaluated in the coming days and it’s likely he starts the 2021 MLB season on the injured list.

The Blue Jays said earlier in March that Pearson suffered a Grade 1 groin strain during his first spring training start against the Pittsburgh Pirates and he wasn’t expected to “miss too much time.”

Pearson was slated to be a regular part of the Blue Jays rotation this season, his first full campaign in the majors. Elbow injuries limited him to only four starts and five appearances last season and he posted a 6.00 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 18 innings.