The Diamondbacks received some optimistic injury news on closer Paul Sewald and Alek Thomas , but the same can not be said for left-handed reliever Kyle Nelson. Talking to the media before the game, manager Torey Lovullo told reporters, including Arizona Sports’ Alex Weiner, that Nelson will undergo thoracic outlet decompression surgery from Dr. Gregory Pearl on May 6 and will likely miss the rest of the season.
Kyle Nelson’s TOS surgery scheduled for May 6 with Dr. Pearl in Texas, per Torey Lovullo.
Nelson is likely out for the season, Lovullo said.
— Alex Weiner (@alexjweiner) May 3, 2024
Nelson, 27, appeared in 11 games for the D-backs in 2024, pitching to a 4.22 ERA. He had three poor outings from April 16 to April 20, allowing five runs in 1 1/3 innings, although he had been experiencing symptoms before then. He was placed on the 15-day injured list on April 23 and then transferred to the 60-day IL a week later.
On Monday, Lovullo gave an update that Nelson was consulting with Dr. Pearl, a vascular surgeon in the Dallas area who performed Merrill Kelly’s surgery in 2020. He clarified that it was a neurogenic issue, the more common form of thoracic outlet syndrome.
From the MLB Glossary page, this is the expected procedure for thoracic outlet decompression surgery:
During surgery to correct Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, both the first rib — the uppermost of the ribs, which is attached to the first thoracic vertebrae at the base of the neck, angles down and connects to the sternum just below the collarbone — and the scalene muscles are removed to clear space for the nerves in the thoracic outlet.
With Nelson out for the rest of the season, Joe Mantiply, Brandon Hughes, and Logan Allen are the only left-handed relievers on the active roster. Andrew Saalfrank is another option on the 40-man roster, but was optioned to Triple-A Reno on Wednesday and cannot be recalled to the big league roster, unless to replace an injured player, before May 16th.