Philadelphia Phillies reliever Nick Nelson (hamstring) was diagnosed with a moderate left hamstring strain, which forced the Phils to shut him down. There is no timetable for Nelson's return, but he will likely miss the start of the season. Cristopher Sanchez was also shut down after coming across bicep soreness. The Phillies lost four relievers over the offseason and are already short on bullpen staff with these two setbacks. They added Gregory Soto, Matt Strahm, and Craig Kimbrel to counter the bullpen losses. Nelson molded a 4.85 ERA last season across 47 appearances. The 27-year-old struck out 69 batters, along with a 22.5% strikeout rate. He needs to slim down his walk rate, which accumulated to 11.8%. Nelson is off the fantasy radar in most league formats in 2023.
Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson said that right-hander Nick Nelson will start the team's Grapefruit League opener at home against the New York Yankees on Saturday. In his first season with the Phillies in 2022, Nelson went 3-2 with a 4.85 ERA (3.04 FIP), 1.48 WHIP, one save and 22.6 percent strikeout rate in a career-high 68 2/3 innings over 47 appearances (two starts). There's a chance that the 27-year-old could make some spot starts again for the Phillies in 2023, but Nelson should serve mostly in a long-relief role out of the bullpen, giving him hardly any fantasy appeal.
The Philadelphia Phillies acquired right-handed relief pitcher Nick Nelson and minor league catcher Donny Sands from the New York Yankees on Friday in exchange for minor league infielder T.J. Rumfield and left-hander Joel Valdez. Nelson, 25, was 0-2 with an 8.79 ERA in two starts and nine relief appearances with the Yankees last season, striking out 22 hitters in 14 1/3 innings of work. With Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre over five starts and 24 relief outings, he went 3-4 with a 3.81 ERA. In just two big league seasons, Nelson has a 6.43 ERA. The move was mostly made because the Yankees were short 40-man roster spots to protect prospects ahead of the Rule 5 draft.
New York Yankees pitcher Nick Nelson was sent down to the team's alternate site following Sunday's loss to the Indians. Nelson pitched against Cleveland on Sunday, allowing a fair amount of hard contact while surrendering three runs to bring his season ERA to 9.23. Manager Aaron Boone spoke about getting Nelson back on track and throwing strikes. The Yankees are expected to call up Deivi Garcia for a spot start on Monday against the Orioles.
New York Yankees pitcher Nick Nelson took the loss in Friday's 8-2 defeat at the hands of the Rays. Nelson served as an opener for New York, pitching one inning and allowing two runs on two hits with a pair of walks and strikeouts. Command was an issue for the 25-year-old, as 15 of his 30 pitches went for strikes. Nelson likely won't make too many starts like this, as it was a move meant to preserve the arms in the Yankees' rotation, meaning the former will return to a more standard bullpen role moving forward. After a promising spring, Nelson has taken a step back in the early going, as he owns a 10.80 ERA in five innings of work in 2021.
The New York Yankees are going with pitcher Nick Nelson as an opener in Friday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Michael King will follow Nelson in relief. Yankees manager Aaron Boone stated that he wanted to give the team's starters an extra day of rest. Jordan Montgomery will take the mound on Saturday with Gerrit Cole pitching on Sunday. Nelson has made three appearances in relief this year. His last one was a rough one against the Rays last Friday. He allowed four earned runs over 1 2/3 innings.
Nick Nelson
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Phillies
