MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers reinstated Jimmy Nelson from the 10-day injured list Friday and optioned him to Triple-A San Antonio, where he will continue to make starts in an effort to get back to the big leagues.
President of baseball operations David Stearns and manager Craig Counsell delivered the news to the right-hander via conference call on Friday afternoon, and both characterized Nelson as disappointed by the decision not to bring him back immediately. Nelson, who has not pitched in the Major Leagues since undergoing right shoulder surgery in the fall of 2017, made a fourth start for San Antonio on Thursday night and worked four hitless innings before running into trouble in the fifth and calling it a night at 87 pitches.
It was the final outing in his 30-day window of rehab starts.
“There was significant consideration [about calling him up to the Major Leagues],” Stearns said. “We believe Jimmy is going to help us a lot this year, so there was significant consideration whether now is the time or if we need a little bit more time. Ultimately, we decided that a little more time is probably best for everyone.”
Said Counsell: “We think he’s making good progress. He’s answered the health questions. He’s on his way back. At this point, an option was, for us, what we thought was best for the roster and best for him to continue on a regular schedule of pitching.”
The decision reflected the strong state of the Brewers’ starting rotation going into Friday’s series opener against the Phillies at Miller Park. Brewers starters had MLB’s best ERA in a 16-game span from May 4-21 before Zach Davies’ rare dud against the Reds on Wednesday.
“If we have injuries, I think it’s a different conversation,” Stearns said. “Or some of the performance issues, different conversation. I think part of it is Jimmy, and I think part of it is guys are throwing the ball pretty well.”
At this time, the Brewers were not inclined to consider a bullpen role for Nelson. Stearns cited several factors for that decision.
“I think the first is we see this guy as an elite-level Major League starter,” he said. “We know how routine-oriented he is, and we don’t necessarily know from a health perspective how he would respond from needing to recover quickly out of the ‘pen. With all that being said, I don’t think we’re closing the doors to anything. I think this is going to stay pretty fluid here. We’re going to continue to evaluate where he is, where we are from a roster perspective. Ultimately, Jimmy is going to help us this year in one form or another.”
Nelson was just emerging as a top-of-the-rotation talent in 2017 when he suffered significant structural damage to his right shoulder while diving back to first base following a single at Wrigley Field. He finished that season with 199 strikeouts and a 3.49 ERA in 175 1/3 innings.
He didn’t pitch another regular season baseball game for 18 months, until beginning a rehab assignment with the San Antonio Missions. Jacob Nottingham was Nelson’s catcher for his first two starts.
“By the second outing, you could just tell he had full commitment and knew exactly where he was throwing the ball,” Nottingham said. “I thought his offspeed was just like old Jimmy. His curveball and slider were sharp, hard, heavy -- like a bowling ball. I think he’ll be here soon.”
For now, Nelson is likely to remain pitching every six days at San Antonio.
“He’s disappointed, no question,” Counsell said. “He’s disappointed and wants to know, ‘What do I do to get back?’ Those are normal questions -- the right questions. We just talked about how he is progressing. But I think anybody is disappointed in that scenario.”