Tommy Nance

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Thomas Andrew Nance

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Biographical Information[edit]

Pitcher Tommy Nance was undrafted coming out of college and began his professional career in the independent Frontier League, with the Windy City Thunderbolts. After the season, he was signed as a free agent by the Chicago Cubs.

He was already 30 years old when he made his major league debut with the Cubs in 2021. It came two weeks after he had taken part in a combined no-hitter for the Iowa Cubs against the Indianapolis Indians in the Triple-A East league on May 9th, in a game started by veteran major leaguer Shelby Miller. It was the first minor league no-hitter in over a year, as the minor leagues had been shut down for all of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was 1-1, 7.22 in 27 games for the Cubs, all in relief, then was claimed off waivers by the Miami Marlins towards the end of spring training in 2022. He pitched better in Miami, going 2-3, 4.33 in 35 games, including a couple of starts, and struck out 57 batters in 43 2/3 innings.

He did not pitch in the majors in 2023, as injuries limited him to just 13 games spread among four levels of the Marlins' system. After the season, he signed a contract with the San Diego Padres for 2024, who sent him to the AAA El Paso Chihuahuas. He was 2-2, 4.05, with 2 saves in 26 games. On August 7th, the Toronto Blue Jays, who were short of bullpen arms, purchased his contract from San Diego in what turned out to be a good deal both for Tommy and for the Jays. He was limited to a back-of-the-bullpen role in the final eight weeks of the season, going 0-4, 4.09 in 20 games, but showed enough that he was kept around as insurance for 2025. He started that season in the minors pitching for the AAA Buffalo Bisons. He went 0-4, 4.60 with 4 saves in 27 games, and was called up to Toronto on July 12th. Because he did not have any options left, the Jays kept him around a couple of times when they had to open a spot on their pitching staff, but within a couple of weeks, there was no longer any reason to consider sending him down, as he was one of the top performers in a bullpen marked by numerous blown leads. At the end of August, his ERA stood at 0.82 in 19 games, and he had been credited with a pair of wins. Given his recent success, he was given a chance to close a game on September 1st after the Jays had scored 3 runs in the top of the 9th to take a 4-2 lead against the Cincinnati Reds, but he failed, retiring one batter but giving up two hits, before Brendan Little proceeded to allow both of these runners to score, and allowed another run score without retiring anyone in what was a highly demoralizing loss.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Keegan Matheson: "No dodge, all ram: Nance delivers in clutch fireman relief role for Blue Jays", mlb.com, August 31, 2025. [1]

Related Sites[edit]

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