Torey Lovullo Shared Selfless Ryne Nelson Story

Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Ryne Nelson has been one of the most impressive arms in the organization since his breakout in 2024. But, perhaps more impressively, he's dealt with his adversity in a selfless, mature manner.

Nelson appeared to be a lock for the starting rotation to begin 2025, but the addition of Corbin Burnes led to a decision to stick Nelson in long relief to start the year.

Many would be frustrated by this. In fact, many fans were. But As injuries piled up, Nelson once again earned his chance to start, and has done so extremely well. He's pitched to a 3.39 ERA and a 7-3 record.

On Wednesday, manager Torey Lovullo praised Nelson's outlook on the situation, and shared a story about one of their interactions.

Arizona Diamondbacks' Torey Lovullo Shares Ryne Nelson Story

"There's so much that I can say about him. First of all, I'm grateful for what he's done for this organization. We have bounced him around between starter, reliever, never really officially handed anything to him. We gave it to him last year," Lovullo said.

"He had every right to believe it was going to be his this year, and then we threw him into the bullpen."

Lovullo then shared the story of what Nelson said to his manager after the tough decision.

"I'll never forget what he said to me when we talked to him about that. He said, 'Well, whatever you guys want me to do, I will do. I trust you guys. I would rather be playing baseball in October than sitting home on my couch in October. And if you feel like this will help us win games, I'm all in.'

"What kind of an answer would you ever want to hear from somebody that you feel like could say, 'I'm being mistreated,' or 'Why me?' He didn't have that mindset. So I don't think he gets in his own way," Lovullo said.

Lovullo said that story embodies Nelson's overall outlook on the game. That approach has helped the young righty.

"My point, the reason why I said that... is he doesn't get in his own way. There's reality that sits in front of him. He knows what he has to tack on a daily basis," Lovullo said.

"I think he's 7-3. It's hard to believe he's only 7-3. I think he should have more results, but he doesn't. And he just goes out there and keeps pumping the strikes, pumping the strikes full of nasty stuff and gets big outs for us and pitches deep into the game.

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"We're clearly big fans, and we love what we see from him," Lovullo said.

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