The Los Angeles Dodgers placed Jimmy Nelson on the 10-day injured list due to right elbow inflammation and recalled Darien Nuñez from Triple-A Oklahoma City prior to the series finale against the Houston Astros. It marked a second bullpen move in as many days, as Brusdar Graterol replaced Edwin Uceta (back strain).
Nelson is on the IL for a third time this season, with the first instance due to the right forearm inflammation and the second injury a left lumbar strain. He has appeared in 28 games (one start) for the Dodgers, going 1-2 with a 1.86 ERA thus far.
Nelson missed just over two weeks in each of his prior IL stints. He last appeared in a game on July 30 and surrendered the hit that resulted in the Dodgers falling to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 10 innings.
Nuñez is back with the Dodgers just over one week after being optioned to Oklahoma City. The southpaw is in his third stint with the club.
Nuñez made his MLB debut earlier this season and is 0-1 with a 6.14 ERA in five games (one start) with L.A. Nuñez has otherwise split the 2021 season with Double-A Tulsa and OKC, going a combined 5-0 with a 2.55 ERA across 19 games.
The 28-year-old was signed by the Dodgers as a Minor League free agent on April 16, 2018.
Dodgers sign Hamels
Swapping out Nelson for Nuñez was the Dodgers’ second roster move of the day as they previously announced the signing of Cole Hamels for the remainder of the season.
“I think it certainly would be helpful,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of adding a veteran starter to the team.
“Obviously adding Max, and having Walker and Julio, and David has really stepped up and given us huge innings. To lose Tony (Gonsolin) and Clayton (Kershaw) for the time being, to have a guy you know you can trust and go deep in games, is important.
“We’ve always talked about depth, and specifically to pitching, I think we’ve tapped into that depth where we’re at right now.”
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