Thomas Andrew Nance (born March 19, 1991) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

in the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

organization. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

and

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

Early life and amateur career

Nance attended Woodrow Wilson High School in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

. In high school he had a stress fracture in his lower back. He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

at Long Beach State,

Cypress College Cypress College is a public community college in Cypress, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges System and belongs to the North Orange County Community College District. It offers a variety of general education (55 associat ...

, and Santa Clara. He underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

after his senior year of college.

Professional career

Windy City Thunderbolts

In 2015, Nance went undrafted out of

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private university, private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university' ...

, and signed with the

Windy City Thunderbolts The Windy City ThunderBolts are a professional baseball team based in Crestwood, Illinois. The ThunderBolts compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the Midwest Division. The team is owned by Franchise Sports LLC, playing its home games ...

of the

Frontier League The Frontier League (FL; French: ''Ligue Frontière'', LF) is a professional baseball league in North America composed of 18 teams – 15 in the United States and 3 in Canada. The FL is one of the eight independent baseball leagues in North Ame ...

. In 29 games, Nance registered a 4.74 ERA and 1–1 record with 40 strikeouts in 38 innings and a 1.421 WHIP.

Chicago Cubs

On January 18, 2016, Nance had his contract purchased by the

organization. He split the 2016 season between four Cubs affiliates, the Low-A Eugene Emeralds, the Single-A

South Bend Cubs The South Bend Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in South Bend, Indiana, and play their home games at Four Winds Field at Coveleski Stadium. The team w ...

, the High-A

Myrtle Beach Pelicans The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs of the National League in Major League Baseball. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games a ...

, and the Triple-A

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. T ...

. He accumulated a 4–1 record and 2.58 ERA in 22 games between the four teams. He did not play in a game in 2017 due to injury, after being diagnosed with

nerve injury Nerve injury is an injury to a nerve. There is no single classification system that can describe all the many variations of nerve injuries. In 1941, Herbert Seddon introduced a classification of nerve injuries based on three main types of nerve ...

in his shoulder. He spent the 2018 season in Double-A with the

Tennessee Smokies The Knoxville Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The team was based in Kodak, Tennessee, a Knoxville suburb, fr ...

, where he recorded a 3.48 ERA in 15 appearances. He split 2019 between Tennessee and Myrtle Beach, pitching to a 2–5 record and 4.07 ERA with 56 strikeouts in 48.2 innings of work. Nance did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He was assigned to Triple-A Iowa to begin the 2021 season. On May 9, Nance pitched the fourth through sixth innings of a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

against the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

Principal Park Principal Park, formerly Sec Taylor Stadium, is a minor league baseball stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. It is the home field of the International League's Iowa Cubs. Features Principal Park is at the confluence of the Des Moines River and the Racco ...

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

. Preceded on the mound by Shelby Miller, he struck out five batters over three innings before being relieved by Brad Wieck and Ryan Meisinger who completed the combined no-hit game. On May 16, after recording a 1.50 ERA in 3 games with Iowa, Nance was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. Nance made his MLB debut on May 17, pitching a scoreless inning of relief. In the game, he recorded his first Major League strikeout, punching out the first batter he faced,

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

infielder Josh Harrison. On June 11, Nance earned his first MLB victory against the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

. On October 2, Nance was placed on the COVID-19 injured list. In 2021 for the Cubs the 30-year-old was 1-1 with a 7.22 ERA. In 27 games his pitched 28.2 innings, in which he gave up 23 earned runs. On March 25, 2022, Nance was designated for assignment.

Miami Marlins

On March 27, 2022, the

claimed Nance off waivers. He made 35 appearances for the Marlins in 2022, posting a 2-3 record and 4.33 ERA with 57 strikeouts in 43.2 innings pitched. In 2023, Nance suffered a right shoulder strain in February that caused him to begin the regular season on the injured list. He was placed on the 60-day injured list on April 22 amid his recovery. On August 23, Nance was activated from the injured list. He was placed back on the 60–day injured list with an undisclosed injury on September 19, ending his season with having made an appearance for Miami. Following the season on November 6, Nance was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to the Triple–A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. He elected free agency the same day.

San Diego Padres

On December 10, 2023, Nance signed a minor league contract with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

. In 26 appearances for the Triple–A

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team based in El Paso, Texas. The Chihuahuas compete in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) as the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Sou ...

in 2024, Nance logged a 4.05 ERA with 35 strikeouts and 2 saves across innings pitched.

Toronto Blue Jays

On August 7, 2024, Nance was traded to the

in exchange for cash considerations. The next day, Toronto selected his contract and added him to their active roster. In 20 appearances for the Blue Jays, he compiled an 0-3 record and 4.09 ERA with 19 strikeouts over 22 innings of work. Nance was designated for assignment by Toronto on March 27, 2025. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

on March 30.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nance, Tommy 1991 births Living people Baseball players from Long Beach, California Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Chicago Cubs players Cypress Chargers baseball players El Paso Chihuahuas players Eugene Emeralds players Florida Complex League Marlins players Iowa Cubs players Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp players Jupiter Hammerheads players Long Beach State Dirtbags baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Miami Marlins players Myrtle Beach Pelicans players Pensacola Blue Wahoos players Santa Clara Broncos baseball players South Bend Cubs players Tennessee Smokies players Toronto Blue Jays players Windy City ThunderBolts players