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Nelson returns to Arizona’s pitching equation after missing nearly three months with an elbow strain. The 28-year-old never worked more than two innings during his minor league rehab assignment which means he’s likely going to pitch in relief for the Diamondbacks as they attempt to secure a playoff spot in the final two weeks of the season.

Nelson has been shut down since June 19th with a partially torn forearm flexor. He has been pitching out of the bullpen in Triple-A and will have that same role with the Diamondbacks for their playoff push.

This is Nelson’s second rehab appearance, and both have been just one inning. He needed just 11 pitches to get through this innings, but he was not pushed any farther, which lines up with earlier reports that he would return in a bullpen role. Nelson sat 95.7 mph on his four-seamer and mixed in some cutters and sliders too. He could be back in Arizona in the next week or so, but he would lose all fantasy value in a bullpen role.

Nelson needed just 15 pitches (nine strikes) to retire the side in order on a pair of strikeouts and a fly out. Since there isn’t time to get him fully stretched out before the end of the season, the expectation is that Nelson could rejoin the Diamondbacks’ in a bullpen role for the stretch run.

Nelson is going to pitch in a rehab game in Visalia on Saturday, but he has been shut down since June 19th, so it’s unlikely he will be fully built up to a starter’s workload over the next few weeks. He has experience out of the bullpen and could be an asset for the Diamondbacks there as they fight for a playoff spot.

Nelson is working his way back from an elbow strain that put him on the shelf back in mid-June. It might be unrealistic to expect him to make it back before the end of the regular season, but he could be available to pitch in relief if Arizona makes the playoffs.

Nelson has been shut down since hitting the injured list with a right elbow strain back on June 19. The 28-year-old will be racing the clock to make it back this season since he’ll need a couple weeks to build up his arm strength before he’s cleared for a rehab assignment. However, it’s theoretically possible he’ll make it back before the end of the year.

Nothing has changed in the prognosis for Nelson, who is dealing with a partially torn forearm flexor, this was done merely as a procedural move to clear a spot on the club’s 40-man roster for the addition of Max Kepler on Thursday. The expectation is that Nelson will miss the remainder of the 2026 season.

Not good. He’ll be out for an extended period of time, perhaps the rest of the season, and the Diamondbacks will have to make due for the time being. Fantasy managers in redraft leagues can safely drop Nelson.

Oof. Nelson was pitching really well since a down April, compiling a 3.75 ERA and a 2-3 record over 57 2/3 innings since the start of May. Gambadoro also reports Yilber Díaz is being called up to replace Nelson. This is typically the kind of injury that would cost a pitcher multiple months, so Nelson is droppable in fantasy leagues once this report is confirmed.

Nelson gave up nine hits, including a homer to Mike Trout, but he scattered them around nicely and didn’t hurt his cause with any walks. The win was just his third in 15 starts, even though he’s allowed two runs or fewer eight times. He’ll take on the Twins on Sunday.

The avalanche against Nelson occurred in the fourth inning when the Marlins put up six runs – all scoring with two outs – on two home runs, three other singles, and a hit batsmen. Truthfully, he was fortunate to have gotten through the first three innings barely missing any bats and having allowed eight hard-hit balls on just 10 total balls in play. Nelson will take a 5.19 ERA and 57 to 22 strikeout to walk ratio over 76 1/3 innings into a two-start week against the Angels and Twins.

Nelson gave up four homers to the Mariners last time out but none to the mighty Dodgers tonight. It’s the fourth time in five starts that he’s completed seven innings and allowed no more than three runs, and he has a strong 2.89 ERA since the beginning of May. It’s hard to recommend him in mixed leagues when he’s turned into an extreme flyball pitcher with a below average strikeout rate, but the Diamondbacks should enjoy this for however long it lasts. He’ll make his next start against the Marlins in Miami.

The earned runs all came on solo homers, with Luke Raley and Dominic Canzone taking him deep in the second and Colt Emerson and Julio Rodríguez following with blasts an inning later. Nelson has now given up 15 homers in 65 1/3 innings this season after allowing 17 in 150 2/3 innings in 2024 and 17 in 154 innings last year. He came into the night on a streak of four straight quality starts, so he doesn’t have to worry about his rotation spot right now. However, he needs to improve on either his 19 percent strikeout rate or his 31 percent groundball rate in order to be useful going forward.

Nelson allowed six hits and three walks while striking out three, lowering his ERA to 4.65. He had a brutal stretch in April, allowing 14 earned runs over two starts covering 5 1/3 innings. He now has a 2.36 ERA in May, rewarding fantasy managers who have held throughout. Homers are an issue for him given his lack of grounders, but he’ll look to finish the month on a high note when he visits Seattle for his next scheduled start.

Nelson tossed a scoreless first inning, then was hit hard in the second. He surrendered back-to-back solo homers to Rafael Devers and Willy Adames before a single and a double brought in a third run. Nelson then settled in to keep the Giants off the board for five more frames, ending his day after seven at 88 pitches. The 28-year-old right-hander will take a 5.19 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and a 46/16 K/BB ratio across 52 innings into a start against the Rockies in Arizona on Sunday.

Nelson carried a shutout into the fifth inning before serving up a three-run homer to Jake Burger, which was his lone mistake in this one, and nearly was enough to saddle him with the loss. He didn’t hand out a free pass and allowed just four hits over seven strong frames. He’ll face the Giants in his next start on Tuesday.

Nelson leaned on his trusted fastball to put together his best start of the season here. Any good game against the Mets’ anemic offense should be taken with a grain of salt, but he completed six innings for the first time all year and did so blowing fastball after fastball by them. That pitch accounted for six of his nine total whiffs and he threw them nearly 60% of the time. It had a 70% strike rate and the Mets only managed three hard-hit balls against it. Besides a solo home run from Mark Vientos, they practically never made Nelson sweat. Nelson has now stacked back-to-back good games after his two-start disaster from a few weeks ago and will try to keep the momentum rolling in his next scheduled start on the road against the Rangers.

Nelson tossed a clean first inning, then surrendered a solo homer to Ian Happ to start the second. He then worked through a bases-loaded jam in the third. Nelson would pitch into the sixth, leaving with one runner on and two outs at 84 pitches. He struck out four. The one-run outing ends a rough stretch for Nelson, who surrendered 14 runs over his last two starts. The 28-year-old right-hander will take a 6.61 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, and a 28/13 K/BB ratio across 31 1/3 innings into a start against the Mets in Arizona on Friday.

Nelson averaged 97.1 mph with his fastball today, up 1.2 mph from his season average, but in the thin air of Mexico City, he gave up two homers with a total of three men on base. This leaves him with a 7.71 ERA after six starts, which could put his rotation spot in jeopardy. Still, ERA estimators think he’s been unlucky, and it’s hard to see Brandon Pfaadt as a better bet. He should face the Cubs next weekend.