The Diamondbacks are set to bring Ryne Nelson back from the 60-day injured list today, and the move will cost Derek Law his roster spot.
According to John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM Arizona Sports, Arizona will designate Law for assignment to clear room for Nelson, who has been sidelined since mid-June with a partial flexor tear. Nelson did not need surgery.
Before the injury, Nelson, 28, had put together a rough first half by his standards, posting a 4.97 ERA over 83 1/3 innings. One ugly start in mid-April did a lot of damage to that line: he was hammered for eight runs by the Blue Jays and got just one out before being pulled. Strip away that outing and his season looks a lot cleaner, with a 3.69 ERA across his other 14 appearances.
The right-hander was a major part of the rotation in 2025, when he threw 154 innings with a 3.39 ERA, a 21.3% strikeout rate and a 6.6% walk rate. He only made three rehab appearances this time around, all in relief and none longer than 1 2/3 innings, so he won’t be built up for a traditional starter’s workload before the season ends.
For now, he’s headed to the bullpen. Arizona’s rotation spots will go to Corbin Burnes, Brandon Pfaadt, Eduardo Rodriguez, Merrill Kelly and Michael Soroka, who is a free agent at season’s end.
Law, who turned 36 on Monday, has worked nine innings out of the Arizona bullpen and given up one run on eight hits, two walks and a hit batter. He’s struck out five of 34 batters faced, with a 14.7% strikeout rate and a 7.7% swinging-strike rate. His 1.00 ERA is helped by a huge 91% strand rate, well above his career 75.3% mark, and his average fastball sits at 93.2 mph, down two miles per hour from his most recent big league stint.
Law had flexor surgery last July while with the Nationals organization, did not pitch in the majors last year and has spent much of the 2026 season rehabbing with Arizona. In 2024, he logged 90 innings of 2.60 ERA ball for Washington, mostly in a low-leverage long relief role.
A veteran journeyman, Law owns a career 3.63 ERA, including a 3.10 mark dating back to the 2021 season. He has spent more time in middle relief and long relief than in high-leverage late-inning spots. He’ll go on waivers, though with the postseason eligibility cutoff already passed and free agency coming at season’s end, there’s a chance he clears.
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