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Diamondbacks pitcher Ryne Nelson (19) pitches in relief against the Dodgers in the ninth inning during a game at Chase Field on May 10, 2025, in Phoenix. Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ryne Nelson's Time in Diamondbacks Rotation Could be Short

Originally posted on Arizona Diamondbacks on SI
By Jack Sommers | Last updated May 26, 2025 6:34 PM ET

PHOENIX, AZ -- Ryne Nelson is starting for the Arizona Diamondbacks Monday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates. It's his second time filling in for the injured Eduardo Rodríguez, who has been on the Injured List since May 16 with left shoulder inflammation.

Nelson started one other game when Corbin Burnes skipped a start. His other nine outings have all been in a long relief role.

Listening to manager Torey Lovullo during his pregame press conference, it sounds like Rodríguez is progressing quickly. The veteran left-hander threw a three-inning, 55-pitch simulation game recently. He will throw a bullpen session on Tuesday.

It wasn't totally clear if the plan was for Rodriguez to come off the Injured List when eligible on May 31, or sometime soon after that. Lovullo was non-committal on both Rodríguez's exact return date and Nelson's status in the rotation.

"Nelly's going to be our starting pitcher and not going to miss this turn, I'll go ahead and tell you that," Lovullo said. "But after that, we have some decisions to make and we'll figure this out. We've got to keep getting E-Rod healthy and when he's healthy, we'll start to make those types of decisions."

The D-backs have an off-day Thursday, May 29, and then another one on Monday, June 2. The next time the Nelson/Rodríguez spot in the rotation comes up would be June 3 in Atlanta against the Braves.

I pressed Lovullo on whether the team would consider sending Rodríguez to pitch out of the bullpen, giving the team a second left-hand reliever along with the overworked Jalen Beeks. While Lovullo acknowledged he'd like to have a second lefty in the pen, he gave a clear answer that indicated Rodríguez will remain a starter.

"That conversation hasn't even come up at all. I do like the fact that we could have two potential lefties down there, but for me, E-Rod's a starting pitcher and we're going to keep him that way."

Torey Lovullo health updates + E-Rod

The clear inference in all these statements is that as soon as the team is confident that Rodríguez is healthy and ready to be activated, he's going to go right back into the rotation. Barring an injury to another starter then, Nelson will need to return to the bullpen.

Nelson was the team's best starter over the second half of 2024. He went on a run from July 2 to the end of the year where he posted a 3.05 ERA, supported by a 3.14 FIP in 83 innings pitched. But with the addition of Burnes to the rotation, and all the other starters healthy, including Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Brandon Pfaadt, and Rodríguez, Nelson did not make the rotation to start the season.

Nelson had two poor relief outings, accounting for nine of the 16 earned runs he's allowed this year. He has a 4.60 ERA in 31.1 innings, but his FIP is a full run lower at 3.60. Over his last 20.1 innings he has a 2.61 ERA.

Rodríguez was hurt in spring training last year, and when he came back he struggled to find consistency, posting a 3-4 record, 5.04 ERA in 10 starts.

Early in 2025 he was pitching into some bad batted ball luck and received some poor defensive support as well. He was striking out a lot of batters, but the runs kept scoring. It hasn't been luck that caused the dam to break over his last five starts, however. He gave up 28 runs in 22.2 innings. There were 34 hits, and six of those were home runs.

Finally, with his ERA ballooned all the way up to 7.05 on the year, he was placed on the Injured List following an MRI on the shoulder. His FIP was 4.29, so it's fair to say he didn't deserve an ERA over seven. But he wasn't pitching up to his contract in any sense.

Signed to a four-year, $80 million deal prior to 2024, Rodríguez has made19 total starts for Arizona over the last two seasons and gone 4-7 with a 5.99 ERA and a 4.44 FIP. Certainly, the team expects and needs much better when he returns, whenever that may be.

In the meantime, Nelson might need to accept being shuttled back to the bullpen. Hopefully the team can avoid the issues they've had in the past in these types of scenarios. There is a list of pitchers used this way that have ended up injured, including Randal Delgado, Jon Duplantier and more recently Drey Jameson.

A.J. Puk Update

Left-hand reliever A.J. Puk has extended his throwing program out to 75 feet, but has not yet thrown on a mound.

"There's no timeline on a bullpen or when it'll be closer to returning. We've just got to get him built up, get some arm strength and get him on the mound for that first bullpen. When that is, we're not sure," Lovullo said. Puk is eligible to come off the 60-day IL on June 18, but it appears the actual timeline will stretch further than that.

This article first appeared on Arizona Diamondbacks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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