Diamondbacks officially place Nelson (elbow) on IL

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.

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.