Diamondbacks' Ryne Nelson Says Surprise Injury is 'Not Worst Case'

The bad news is Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Ryne Nelson won't be on the mound for some time after he was placed on the 15-day IL earlier Friday with a strained right elbow.

The good news is, according to Nelson himself, the injury is "not worst case." Meaning, it does not sound like Tommy John surgery is a possibility — for the time being, at least. It's a flexor tendon strain, which is not the same as a torn UCL, though both reside in the same region of the elbow.

"It's not the news that you want to hear," a disappointed Nelson said. "It's also not worst case, so there's a little bit of a bright side to it. Just going to do whatever I can to get back healthy and get back out there and help this team win."

"It's not a full-blown UCL tear, so I think that that would be the worst-case scenario," he said. "I'm just going to shut it down for a little bit, try and rehab and see where it's at in a few weeks."

So, how long will Nelson be down?

Diamondbacks' Ryne Nelson avoids worst-case injury scenario

The exact timeline is unknown, though this particular injury often follows a rough timeline of 4-12 weeks. That could still put Nelson's season in jeopardy, depending on how the future evaluations go, but Nelson said, for the time being, he would be shut down from throwing for about four weeks before being reevaluated.

"I think it's still kind of up in the air. I would say it's shut down for a few weeks, four weeks, and then kind of reevaluate," he said.

Nelson said the issue arose during his most recent start against the Los Angeles Angels at Chase Field. Nelson felt something in the third inning of that game, but pushed through to toss seven innings of two-run baseball and get the win.

"As a pitcher, you're going to feel stuff pretty consistently .You're going to have stuff pop up, and you're like, 'ah, is it that serious? Is it something I can work through?' ... next pitch was 98 on the fastball, so it felt like... it was something I could keep going."

Nelson said he brought it to the staff's attention after the game. He later tried to play catch, but that "didn't go great," so he underwent an MRI on Thursday, which revealed the injury.

Jun 10, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Ryne Nelson (19) delivers a pitch against the Miami Marlins during the first inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The right-hander has never dealt with an elbow/forearm injury of this nature before. He's been relatively healthy in his career with Arizona, minus a couple of short-term shoulder ailments and an elbow contusion (bruise) suffered in 2024.

Nelson is staying optimistic that he will pitch again for Arizona this season. The fact that surgery is not being immediately presented as the path forward is certainly a positive sign that Nelson will be able to. There does, however, still lie a possibility that he is unable to take the mound again this year.

"It's kind of unknown for me," he said. "For the most part, just disappointed that I can't go out there and compete and try and help this team win. Hopefully, if everything goes well, I can get back and help them this year and try and help down the stretch."

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