Nick Mears

Nicolaus Tanner Mears

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 215 lb.
• School Sacramento City College
• High School Rocklin High School
• Debut August 8, 2020

• Born October 7, 1996 in Sacramento, CA USA

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Biographical Information

Nick Mears made it to the majors two years after being undrafted.

Mears was 4-1 with 6 saves and a 2.56 ERA in junior college. The Pittsburgh Pirates signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2018. He pitched four shutout innings (1 H, 8 K) that summer for the West Virginia Black Bears. He split 2019 between the Greensboro Grasshoppers (1-1, 3.09 in 7 G, 19 K, 5 H in 11 2/3 IP), Bradenton Marauders (4-2, 5 Sv, 3.60 in 23; 43 K, 22 H in 30 IP) and Altoona Curve (3 R, 1 ER, 7 K in 5 IP). Overall, he had whiffed 69 in 46 2/3 IP and a .186 opponent average. He then dazzled for the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League (2 H, 5 BB, 0 R, 11 K in 8 2/3 IP; Sv). His fastball usually was 96-98 mph, reaching 101.

He replaced Miguel Del Pozo with the Pirates in early August of the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season; it was his season debut as there were no minor league games going on. He relieved Derek Holland with a 8-5 deficit in the 6th, one on and no outs. Miguel Cabrera hit a sacrifice fly. He walked C.J. Cron and allowed a single to Jeimer Candelario and walked Travis Demeritte then whiffed Victor Reyes. He walked Grayson Greiner to force in a run before getting JaCoby Jones swinging. In the 7th, he was relieved by Sam Howard. He was then sent down to make room for Brandon Waddell. He eventually made three more appearances that season and finished with no decisions and a 5.40 ERA in 5 innings.

Nick made 30 appearances for Pittsburgh in 2021, going 1-0, 5.01 with 23 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings while pitching from the back of the bullpen, then did not give up any runs in his only two appearances in 2022, totaling 2 innings. He also played for the AAA Indianapolis Indians both of those years, although he did not put up great numbers in the minors either, with ERAs of 5.01 and 4.74. he also missed part of the second season with an injury and made a rehabilitation assignment with the Bradenton Marauders. Following the 2022 season, he was claimed off waivers by the Texas Rangers and then by the Colorado Rockies in a span of a couple of weeks around the turn of the new year.

Mears did not do particularly well in AAA after joining the Rockies in 2023, with an ERA of 6.08 in 24 games for the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes, but pitched better at the major league level, where his ERA was 3.72 in 16 games. In 2024, he managed to remain in the majors for the first four months of the season and while his numbers were mediocre overall - 1-4, 5.56 in 41 games -, his strikeout rate was good, with 57 Ks in 45 1/3 innings. Clearly, this caught the attention of the Milwaukee Brewers, who acquired him at the trading deadline on July 27th in return for two minor league prospects, Bradley Blalock and Yujanyer Herrera, both pitchers. Blalock had made his major league debut a month earlier, while Herrera was in High-A. Nick struggled with the Brewers however, putting up an ERA of 7.30 in 13 games in spite of an excellent 18/3 K/W ratio in 12 1/3 innings. He got to make his postseason debut that year pitching twice against the New York Mets in the Wild Card Series; he did not give up anything in 2 1/3 innings and struck out three opponents.

Mears had a solid season as a middle reliever for the Brewers in 2025, making 63 appearances out of the bullpen and ending up with a record of 5-3, 3.49 in 56 2/3 innings. On August 16th, he picked up his first career save, preserving a 6-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Ironically, it was not one of his best performances, as the Brewers had scored three runs in the top of the 11th, and he gave up a sacrifice fly and a solo homer to Noelvi Marte before recording the final out of the game. He pitched in the postseason again, with 3 appearances against the Chicago Cubs in the Division Series. He allowed a hit and a walk in 1 2/3 innings, but again struck out three and did not give up a run. On December 13th that year, he was traded to the Kansas City Royals alongside OF Isaac Collins in return for lefty reliever Angel Zerpa.

Related Sites

• Nick Mears on mlb.com