4:35pm: The Diamondbacks have now officially announced these moves.
11:31am: The Diamondbacks are planning to reinstate right-hander Ryne Nelson from the 60-day injured list today and will designate fellow righty Derek Law for assignment in order to create roster space, reports John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM Arizona Sports. Nelson has been out since mid-June due to a partial flexor tear but did not require surgery.
Nelson, 28, struggled to a 4.97 ERA in 83 1/3 frames before being diagnosed with that flexor injury. He was key rotation cog in 2025, tossing 154 innings with a 3.39 earned run average, 21.3% strikeout rate and 6.6% walk rate. A disproportionate level of this year’s struggles came in one nightmare start back in mid-April. Nelson was tattooed for eight runs against the Blue Jays and only recorded one out before being lifted. Any pitcher’s line looks better if you remove his worst appearance, but that was a clear outlier; Nelson has a 3.69 ERA through his other 14 appearances on the season.
Nelson pitched in only three minor league rehab games, all of them relief outings lasting no more than 1 2/3 innings. He’ll presumably be back in next year’s rotation mix alongside Corbin Burnes, Brandon Pfaadt, Eduardo Rodriguez and Merrill Kelly, but there’s not enough time on the schedule for him to get built up into a traditional starter’s role. He’ll head to the ‘pen for the time being. Burnes, Rodriguez, Pfaadt, Kelly and Michael Soroka (a free agent at season’s end) will get the rotation nods for the time being.
Law just turned 36 on Monday. He’s pitched nine innings out of the Arizona bullpen and allowed a run on eight hits, two walks and a hit batter. He’s fanned five of his 34 opponents (14.7%) and has a paltry 7.7% swinging-strike rate. His flat 1.00 ERA is a small-sample number that’s largely attributable to a mammoth 91% strand rate (up considerably from his career 75.3% mark). This year’s 93.2 mph average fastball is down two miles per hour from his most recent big league work.
Law had flexor surgery last July while pitching in the Nationals organization. He didn’t pitch in the majors last year and has spent a good chunk of the 2026 campaign rehabbing with the Snakes. Back in 2024, the right-hander logged 90 innings of 2.60 ERA ball for the Nats, spending much of that season working in a low-leverage long relief role.
The journeyman Law has a career 3.63 ERA, including a 3.10 mark dating back to the 2021 season. He’s spent more time working in middle relief and long relief roles than in pivotal, late-inning spots. He’ll head to waivers, but we’re past the postseason eligibility cutoff and Law is a free agent at season’s end anyhow, so there’s a chance he goes unclaimed.
