Dodgers right-hander Jimmy Nelson has been shut down for the time being after experiencing a setback following yesterday’s bullpen session, tweets Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. Nelson has been dealing with back and groin pain early in camp and felt renewed discomfort in his groin after the session. There’s no timetable set for him at present.
Nelson, 30, was a known health risk at the time he signed a heavily incentive-laden deal — a reality that was reflected both in his relatively modest $1.25MM guarantee and the $1MM bonus he’d receive simply for making the Opening Day roster. Nelson’s contract also contains $500K bonuses for spending 45 and 90 days on the active roster, as well as another $1.5MM of unlockable bonuses based on innings pitched. The deal’s low-cost, $2MM team option would become a $5MM mutual option if Nelson is on the mound enough, and the base of that option can also rise based on his innings totals.
Suffice it to say, the Dodgers knew that Nelson was a risky but high-upside signing when handing out that $1.25MM guarantee. The right-hander didn’t pitch at all in 2018 due to late-2017 shoulder surgery, and he was slowed by elbow and shoulder troubles in 2019. Overall, he’s pitched just 22 MLB innings since undergoing surgery in Sept. 2017.
A healthy Nelson, though, is a highly intriguing addition to any pitching staff. During that 2017 campaign, he racked up 175 2/3 innings of 3.49 ERA ball (3.05 FIP) with 10.2 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and 0.82 HR/9. A former second-round pick and top 100 MLB prospect, Nelson has a strong pedigree, terrific numbers in the upper minors and, in 2017, looked to be emerging as a high-quality arm with the Brewers.
Whether he’ll deliver on any of that potential with the Dodgers remains to be seen. For now, he’ll focus on rehabbing what he and the club hope to be minor issues in an effort to contribute in any way possible with his new club. The Dodgers currently boast a deep rotation mix with Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, David Price, Alex Wood and Julio Urias likely in the top five. Ross Stripling, and top-notch prospects Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin are among the plentiful depth options L.A. has cultivated, although May has been slowed by some injury troubles of his own and hasn’t thrown since the first day of camp. As such, Nelson seemed likelier to emerge as a bullpen option, but he’ll need to get back up to strength before he’s an option in either role.
Jimmys down!!!!
He’s got the Jimmy arms.
“You’re turning into Jimmy!”
Don’t touch Jimmy!
All kidding aside, this really just gives Jimmy more time to put the moves on Elaine.
Chief 2 hand jack
How does the Opening Day bonus work if he starts the year on the DL? I’m assuming he wouldn’t get it
I’m guessing that would mean the 26-man roster, but that’s a guess.
Since he’s on a major league contract I assume being on the IL for the start of the season would erase that bonus and presumably lead to a release, or possibly a DFA.
If you put a guy on the IL you are not going to release him because he is off the active roster anyhow. In the case of Nelson, he gets no bonus either according to what is stated in the article.
Whether they release him or not will depend on the precise terms of the contract, which we don’t know. I would assume with a contract like this the player will have the option to request a release if he doesn’t make the roster.
As a Dodgers fan, this is a minimal set back. I feel bad for Nelson though, he’s been working hard to get back from a TON of time missed and now this happens. Feel bad for the guy, yet I’m hoping once he’s back he can return to that 2017 form, for both his sake and the Dodgers’.
Crazy how dodgers 8th SP gonsolin on the depth chart is better than some teams 3rd SP. insane depth
Yeah, that’s not to mention guys like Dennis Santana, Caleb Ferguson, and Victor Gonzalez who could probably make some mlb rotations. Their 6-10 SPs look quite a bit better than Baltimore’s 1-5 this year
They’ve really done an incredible job scouting and developing their pitching pipeline, for sure. To be able to (most likely) stash guys like Gonsolin and May at AAA to start a season – when most teams need and would put them on the big league roster – is very reassuring. Plus having the next wave led by Josiah Gray etc.
I keep hoping for Jimmy to get a chance to show he’s back but …the only thing less surprising this spring was Stanton going down first
As Padres fan beginning to beleive we should just contract the NL West except for the Dodgers. They win it every year. They will easily win it this year. Their fans infest opposing stadiums. Going to Padres vs Dodgers games at Petco is pointless. Their fans are classless and rude. Why bother?
As one of those Dodgers fans that pack Petco I take umbrage with your claim that Dodger fans are classless and rude. We certainly “care” about our teams performance and that’s more than I can say about ANY San Diego sports fans. There’s a long list of San Diego franchises in multiple sports that came and went because of fan apathy and elected official incompetence. Except for 1 ballot initiative, San Diego has acted indifferent towards sports franchises all in the name of “America’s Finest City”. The arrogance is palatable. Your football stadium is second to Oakland and your arena is quite possibly the worst in America, but Dodger fans are classless and rude. Keep up the good work San Diego, your ONE pro team needs you.
Finish him! KO.
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Blaming San Diego fans for indifference? Unreal and completely clueless in regards to why SD fans are apathetic.
Dean Spanos and Donald Sterling. Yes our city was privied to those two owners and as Angelenos know their track record speaks for themselves.
And yes I maintain Dodgers fans are arrogant and entitled, not all of them but a large percentage.
Do I need to remind Dodger fans of Brian Stow and the vitriol they routinely show visiting Giants fans who brave Dodger stadiums.
So yes Dodger fans and class do not go together.
Irony. Sometimes you couldn’t cut it with a chainsaw.
Spanos tried to get a stadium for 18 years and San Diego rebuked him at every turn. Also the NFL told them after the 98’ Super Bowl that the stadium was insufficient to host future games and they ignored them and assumed America’s Finest City was enough. Regarding Sterling, he was only able to buy the team because Bloom was loosing money like water through a sieve and had to unload it. Let’s not even talk about the Rockets, Mariners or Conquistadors that also left after apathy. The Dodger/Giant’s rivalry is just that, a heated rivalry that goes back nearly a century. Their fans are passionate and occasionally drink too much and act abhorrent, but at least they care and support.
Oh and FYI, I’ve lived in San Diego for 47 years, so I know EVERYTHING about sports here.
There is footage of Stow repeatedly being verbally abusive to fans during that game, including against women. While I don’t condone the violence, Stow was not innocent in that scenario, and quite frankly instigated it. He also has a criminal history of drug and spousal abuse, but some people want to paint the wife-beater as a saint. He didn’t get beat up for being a Giants fan. He got beat up for being an abusive a-hole.
I’d say a major city not funding a billionaire’s stadium is a sign of intelligence and is a completely unrelated topic to another fanbase’s classiness or lack thereof
So wait, ‘you know it all’? That response further validates the assertion that Dodger fans fail to exhibit an ounce of class.
You are referencing city politics which is no way representative of the SD fan base. The city voted on the stadium issue not the county. As a fanbase, San Diegans were well aware that the Chargers and Spanos were not intentional about getting a new stadium built. The attempts were mere windowdressing.
Prop C after the 98 season is more indicative of the true San Diego sports fan as the iniative for Petco passed unanimously.
After the Padres owner John Moores failed to put a winning team on the field post 98 San Diegans saw that 98 was a bait and switch. When the iniatives for a new Qualcomm redevelopment began to emerge San Diegans were wary that Spanos would pull a Moores and fail to reinvest into the team.
The climate did not favor a new stadium for the Chargers,which Spanos was well aware of and so his ‘attempts’ were met with wide skepticism. The Spanos were trying to navigate a move to LA and keep the San Diego fan base by claiming ‘they tried’ which backfired and failed miserably.
Politcs and sports always converge in SD and the SD sports fan is often the recipient.
Years of skepticism have lead to a decline in attendance at games, as with any city that has endured as manu losing seasons as San Diegans.
Therefore the appearance of apathy dominates the San Diego sports landscape.
Pretty sure the only classless person here is the Padres fan who showed up on a Dodgers article just to talk smack and be a jerk.
Go back to LA if you hate SD so much.
Chief Two Hands – I can’t believe every one here is OK with your characterization of the events of that night.. The only footage I could find anywhere of Stow at that game was a Dodger fan getting in his face while he is sitting. If you can point me to anything else, please do, and even if that’s true, he doesn’t deserve to almost have his life taken.
His criminal history that you mention was over 20 years before the event happened when he was like 20 years old. I don’t think anyone is calling him a saint., I think all of us baseball fans think you should be able to go to a game in any ballpark with any team colors on without having to worry about nearly dying in the parking lot or having brain damage for the rest of your life.
Words are just words. Getting sucker punched and then repeatedly kicked while unconscious by a couple of thugs is not something anyone has coming. And this isn’t the only time this has happened at Dodgers games. Rafael Reyna ended up on life support after a recent game.
That being said, not sure why a Padres fan is here trolling for no reason.
I love San Diego but let’s not revise history. San Diego is primarily a front runner sports town that usually only supports winners.
Hmm. As many as 4M fans pass through the turnstiles at Dodger Stadium in any given year. If Dodger Stadium was a city, it would be the safest city in the country. Further, in all my decades going to this ballpark I have never witnessed a fan of another team being treated badly by Dodger fans. I have on the other hand seen fans of visiting teams behaving in an obnoxious fashion, quite often in fact. Anyone who makes a blanket assertion that Dodger fans lack class seems to be simply projecting.
Now we can try to figure out what any of this has to do with Jimmy Nelson.
WiseCounsell – I saw footage taken on cell phones from more than one encounter from that game on various sports sites and on Sportscenter back when this was a recent story. The footage included Stow yelling at people and even standing over a woman who was seated, clearly trying to ignore him as he berated her. Again, he didn’t get beat up for being a Giants fan, he got beat up due to his behavior. Also, the reported demotic violence responses on record from the police were not from when the guy was 20 years old (as if that would excuse it anyway). You should do more research before defending an accused spousal abuser who apparently didn’t have a problem yelling at women in public as recently as the night he was attacked. Again, I am not saying I condone the attack, but the evidence indicates that he instigated the situation, and his past behavior, which is on record, only supports it. I don’t know where you got the idea that everything from his past only happened when he was 20 years old, but everything I saw on Sportscenter and from other reports said otherwise.
Chief – I did do research because I had never heard any of what you said and was curious if there was more to this, and all of his criminal activity was from 89-91 that I can find, and no that doesn’t excuse it, but it certainly is possible for people to change. I researched any footage, video, etc of Stow at the game and came back with the one short video like I said.
Literally every article, post and link that I clicked on has none of what you are saying you remember from Sportcenter which is why I’m really curious if you could point me in the direction of any of this supposed information that you have that differs from everything else out there. Defending the guys who nearly killed him seems curious which it seems like you are doing.. You should do more research defending gang bangers and convicted felons.
Now I will be the first to say that doesn’t make 99.9% of Dodgers fans bad and would never imply that. There’s criminals and jerks that cheer for every team. I’m merely taking issue with you basically saying he had it coming. Nobody should have that coming over words or rooting for another team no matter how obnoxious.
The reason dean spanos left is because of dean spanos. Reason people stopped coming to charger games is cause of dean spanos.
San Diego offered mission valley and spanos wanted downtown or bust.
Only residents of “San Diego” were able to vote leaving out Santee El Cajon La Mesa Spring Valley etc. Unless you lived in a zip code that said San Diego you couldn’t vote to keep the chargers.
The clippers leaving San Diego was cause of Donald sterling buying the team and running the franchise into the ground.
The rockets left for Houston mainly because the owner couldn’t afford to pay rent to lease the arena, which you kind of need a place for the team to play. He sold the team to investors and they moved them to Houston.
Knowledge and research is power.
The voted failed by 14%, the county vote wasn’t going to change anything AND IT NEEDED A 2/3 VOTE TO PASS. Spanos left for a better deal, I didn’t like him but it’s his team and he was free to leave. The city dug in and called his bluff and got sideswiped with mud in their face. I’m pretty sure if they had to do it over again they’d gladly give in and build a stadium downtown now. Sterling’s run into the ground Clippers went 42-40 and missed the playoffs by 1 game. He was only able to buy the team. Because Bloom had to unload them due to lack of support.
Ok take a look at the SDSU Aztecs whose games are routinely sold out if question San Diegans passion for basketball.
The climate has changed significantly.
LA turned its back on the NFL for nearly 20 years and was indifferent in its return. USC and UCLA games both in football and basketball suffer through poor attendance.
The Lakers are the beneficiary of history and a well run organization.
The Dodgers rarely ever endure losing seasons but Id be curious to see what attendance numbers at Dodgers Stadium would look like if they did.
Angelenos are no different than San Diegans in that everybody loves a winner.
Left for a better deal lmao. Sharing a stadium and losing revenue, 150+ million below estimates is a better deal? Whoever your financial advisor is id get a new one asap.
Ballot failed cause nobody wanted traffic down town that another stadium would bring. It’s like you have no idea what you’re talking about man. Seriously missing key details.
Notice how sdsu west passed just fine and people voted for that. Sdsu west is being built in mission valley not downtown
The Dodgers went through many losing seasons thanks to McCourt as the owner and still set records for attendance.. Also, Los Angeles has been far from indifferent about the Rams since their return. If you’re going to just blatantly make stuff up try a little harder.
The Dodgers only had one losing season under McCourt.
He’s just sensitive because we show up and cheer in large numbers
Let’s blame la for awful decisions made by sd front office. Myers, Machado, Hosmer? Friedman was available when they hired Preller.
OUCH!
Dang, another one already! Hope he has a quick recovery
Jimmy should have gone into networking or coding.
As a Brewers fan I find this shocking
This is sad. I know he’s made money but it still sucks. I hate to bring it up but he is the poster boy for the Universal DH.