The Houston Astros acquired right-handed pitching prospect Max Martin from the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday in exchange for right-hander Nate Pearson. Pearson had been designated for assignment over the weekend.
Pearson, 29, was once regarded as one of the sport’s premier pitching prospects, ranked among the game’s top ten overall by Baseball America and MLB.com during the 2019-2020 offseason. Injuries in the years since pushed him into a bullpen role, and Kansas City will mark his fourth organization after stops with the Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, and Astros. Originally the 28th overall pick by Toronto in 2017, Pearson is controllable through 2027 via arbitration and is earning $1.35 million this season.
Houston signed Pearson to a one-year contract last offseason with the idea of stretching him back out as a starter. Subsequent additions to the Astros’ rotation—Tatsuya Imai, Mike Burrows, Ryan Weiss, Kai-Wei Teng, and Peter Lambert—along with an offseason elbow procedure, kept him in relief work exclusively. Across 20 innings out of the Houston bullpen this season, Pearson posted a 3.60 ERA with a 19 percent strikeout rate and an elevated 14.3 percent walk rate, while still averaging 97.7 mph on his four-seam fastball.
Martin, 22, has gone 6-2 with a 2.01 ERA across 26 relief appearances between Single-A Columbia and High-A Quad Cities in the Royals’ organization this season. Kansas City selected him in the 10th round of the 2025 Draft.
The move gives Houston another bullpen arm in its farm system as the Astros continue to shape their roster ahead of the July 31 trade deadline.
