The Atlanta Braves are making a small organizational move before the season begins. On Tuesday, Matt Eddy of Baseball America is reporting that the Braves are signing former Arizona Diamondbacks and Guardians pitcher Kyle Nelson to a minor league contract. The left-hander from San Francisco, California, will likely be reassigned to minor league camp shortly.
Kyle Nelson, 29, had a solid stretch of pitching in MLB in 2022-23 as a reliever, but has been unable to find the same opportunities over the last two seasons. However, for the Braves, pitching depth has been tested in recent seasons, so having an arm like Nelson with big league experience feels like a win.
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Braves Sign Former Diamondbacks’ Pitcher Kyle Nelson
Kyle Nelson
âOver four seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Kyle Nelson posted a 3.58 ERA over 105.2 innings and recorded 107 strikeouts. He has 136 total appearances in his career, and an ERA+ of 99. 2022 was Nelson’s best season, as he boasted a 2.19 ERA over 37 innings, but that success was short-lived, and Nelson hasn’t been able to reach the 50-inning plateau since 2023.
From 2024 to 2025, Nelson would record just 12 innings pitched in MLB.
MLBTradeRumors was quick on the news and gave some insight about Nelson’s struggles since 2023:
“Unfortunately, he hasnât been at that level since. He required thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in April of 2024 and missed most of that season. He was back on the mound in 2025 but with diminished stuff and results. His fastball averaged around 92 miles per hour in 2022 and 2023 but was down to around 90 mph last year. He was mostly kept in the minors. He only made three big league appearances and posted an ugly 9.09 ERA in Triple-A.”
He then went through the DFA limbo with the Diamondbacks at the latter stages of last year. Nelson was drafted by Cleveland in 2027 and made his MLB debut with the Guardians in 2020, but never really saw extended opportunities before landing with Arizona.
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Braves’ 2026 Bullpen Outlook
The Braves pretty much have their bullpen all locked up. Raisel Iglesias, Robert Suarez, Joel Payamps, and Daysbel Hernandez will be the high-leverage righty relievers. Dylan Lee and Aaron Bummer slot in as the southpaw options, and then there’s a long list of names that are competing for those last two options.
It’d be highly unlikely that a guy like Nelson makes the big-league roster, so his season will start in Triple-A Gwinnett.
There’s one option left on Kyle Nelson’s contract, which means the Braves are restricted if he ends up getting to MLB while under contract, but again, even that might not happen if Nelson doesn’t perform in the minors.
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